Alice in Madness
by YuukiixZero
Summary: Wonderland is a world of bloodshed and hate,created by Alice. A girl so traumatized and broken that she receded into her own mind, the only way she could hold onto her last bit of Sanity.The Ruthless Queen of Hearts is trying to kill her, as is everyone else in Wonderland. Alice's only companion is Cheshire Cat,pierced,sexy and crazed.Will she gain her Sanity back?Warning Lemons
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello Again :D I've been wanting to write this for a few days and I finally found time to do the prologue, this is going to be very dark since it actually stemmed from a nightmare of mine._**

**__****_So Alice is so traumatized that she recedes into her own mind which is corrupt and known as Wonderland, this will be rated M because I plan for it to be gruesome and dark and full of death and pain :/_**

**__****_Also there will probably be a few Lemons between Alice and a Mystery character ;) _**

**_Note: When Alice if first thrown into Wonderland she is probably about ten or eleven, then the story will most likely jump to her being about seventeen or eighteen, still trapped in Wonderland. I plan for this to be fairly long so don't get into it if your not interested in reading long fics xD_**

**_So warning for: Lemons, blood, gore, angst, and basically all things painful/ and or sad._**

**__****_If your looking for a Fic filled with joy and love then turn back now..Don't bother reading anymore._**

**__****_The story will pick up in Chapter two since this was just the prologue, and a few characters will be introduced as will the causes for Alice's insanity. _**

**_Also you might say that Alice isn't a very strong girl for breaking down and receding into her own mind but she's special and really if I was able to do the same thing as her I'd probably jump at the chance, so please don't insult her 3 _**

**_For those that are reading this thank you :)_**

**_P.s This might be annoying but im going to put up a notice about this story in all my other stories xD So yeah enjoy the short but sweet prologue! 3 _**

~Prologue~

A mind, so twisted and rotted that it turned an entire world foul. Alice invented Wonderland, but she's also the one who turned it evil. Wonderland is a magical place, but not one you would ever want to visit. It's filled with demons, beasts, madmen. Things you wouldn't find in your worst nightmares.

Wonderland is the creation of a little girl, a girl with a broken mind. Her mind poisoned Wonderland making it a land of monsters. But Wonderland was the only place she could go, not by choice of course, no one would willingly go to a place where even the inhabitants were trying to escape. No, Alice the young girl made of nightmares was _flung_ into Wonderland. Her mind deeming it was the only way to save the last bit of Sanity she had left.

So Alice locked herself up in her own mind, unable to find a way out of this world of the damned. The people of Wonderland didn't care that Alice was a child or that she was their creator, they loathed everyone and everything. Their minds were just as twisted and broken as hers, the only release from the constant burning madness clawing at their brains was the kill, maim and hurt.

And Alice was trapped in there with them. Forever for all she knew. She was locked in a world were everyone wanted to kill her, for no good reason, other than to quench the burning for a few moments.

And the ruler of this world, was worse than them all. The Queen of Hearts was ruthless, insane and beautiful. She didn't get her name from the love she showed her people. She got her name because she loved the colour red, the colour of blood. She loved to be soaked in the warm liquid, loved the feeling of it on her skin. And not only did she love blood, she loved hearts. Actual beating hearts, but most of all she loved ripping them out of peoples chests while they were still alive, a mad gleam in her ruby eyes and a devils grin tugging at her lips.

She was the ruler of madmen, which meant she had to be just as insane as them. Some of them loved her, or whatever you could call the affection given by a demon. They loved her not because she was fair, or just, but because she was evil and corrupt, everything the people in Wonderland wanted.

Others hated her because she had power, the exact thing they wanted. But even so, no one in Wonderland could disobey the Queen. Wonderland didn't follow the rules of order, it was a world of Chaos therefore it had it's own rules. The Queen was like the God of Wonderland, if she told you to do something you had no choice but to do it. She could take away your free will with one look from her blood red eyes. The only one that had any hope of overthrowing her was Alice. But the Queen knew she was in Wonderland and would crush her the moment she had the chance.

If you didn't play by the rules of Wonderland you died.

But even so, if you did play by the rulers you died still.

Alice didn't have much hope of surviving even if it was her poisoned mind that governed this world.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2 of Alice In Madness yay! Im typing out Chapter 3 as we speak and Cheshire Cat will be introduced! xD**_

_**God you don't understand how much I love him and he hasn't even been introduced, also Im fully aware no one is reading this!**_

_** But imma keep updating anyway so Bleeh T~T**_

_** Rabbit's pretty cool to I gues xD **_

_**Anyway, read and enjoy, Also review if you have time! :D**_

Chapter 2

Alice could feel it, her mothers blood splattering her face, clinging to her clothes and hair. She saw the frantic look in her sisters eyes as she tried to reach her, could hear the silent scream on her lips as the knife was buried in her chest stuck there for eternity. Alice could hear her father in the other room, could almost feel his bones splintering.

She knew the moment he took his last breathe, felt the spluttering gasp of air choking out of his lungs as if it was her own.

Alice didn't know why this was happening or why they chose to kill her last. She waited and waited but the final blow never came.

So Alice sat like that, for two days drowning in her family's blood. Her small hand clenched her mothers cold stiff one. She didn't move a muscle, sat there perfectly like a doll.

Her family might be dead but she could still hear them, their cry's, their screams. They never stopped blaring in her ears. Alice could see nothing except blood and she wasn't sure if it really covered the walls, ceiling and her own hands or if she was just imagining it. But she didn't care. She didn't have the ability to.

She was numb perfectly and blissfully numb, except she could feel herself going mad. Memories started to flow together, dreams, nightmares and reality becoming one. Soon she didn't even believe her family was dead. So she let go of her mothers hand and walked over to where her sister lay.

Her dark hair was plastered across her face, her eyes glassy and dead. Her hair and clothes were stiff with her own blood. Alice kneeled and called out to her sister asking her to play, but got no response.

So she reached down and grabbed the huge kitchen knife buried in her chest, pulling the thing out with difficulty since it was buried impossibly deep.

Alice fell back, losing her balance. She began to laugh hysterically hot tears rolling down her face. But then she got a lump in her throat and stopped immediately looking down at her hands.

"_Blood, it's so pretty. Everything should be covered in it."_She thought to herself.

"_Everything __is__ covered in it. Blood is my world now. My world is made of blood and flesh."_

Alice looked up at the ceiling pained red with blood. She began to sob and turned on her side clutching at her stomach desperately. She was afraid is she didn't hold herself together she'd break into a thousand pieces.

Alice closed her eyes tight, but when she opened them again she was met with the most horrible creature she had ever seen. Jagged rows of teeth grinned at her from a gaping mouth. It's eyes were fully black like a demon's, she could see her own horrified reflection in those eyes. Boils and open wounds were oozing on it's face.

But Alice didn't scream, had forgotten how to. So she simply closed her eyes again and prayed when she opened them again the monster would be gone.

When she did open them in it's place was a little girl.

She was pale and as young as Alice but had a cold calculating intelligence hidden in her bright pink eyes. Her hair was reached and reached the middle of her slim back. Her lips were full and round and she was wearing a pure white gothic lolita dress with lace and frills.

On her neck hung a perfectly white satin choker, and hanging from the choker in beautiful golden script was "**White Rabbit"**

Alice looked up at the girl who was grinning broadly at her. She couldn't fathom why an angel like this little girl would be in a blood bath with her.

"Who are you?" Alice choked out, her voice scratchy from not being used.

"I have many names dear, but most just call me Rabbit. Who I am matters not though, Alice." This girl spoke with an air of confidence that was beyond her years. But even so Alice didn't trust her. Then again, Alice was sitting in a pool of her family's blood and doubted she would trust anyone ever again.

Alice also knew no one would willingly come to her without something to gain, she might be only eleven but Alice was much beyond her years when it came to intelligence.

The girl laughed a beautiful tinkling laugh sending shivers down Alice's spine.

"You don't like me Alice?" Alice ignored the question and stared at the girl hard.

"What is it you want?" She asked shakily, Alice was on her last legs and knew she couldn't take this anymore.

Rabbit''s bitter sweet smile remained, "I want you Alice." She said simply, no explanation, no anything.

Alice cringed and crawled away from the girl towards the bodies of her mother and sister.

"I can stop all of this, make it go away. I can take you somewhere else and make this all a dream. You'd like to forget Alice? Make the burning madness stop?" Rabbit walked toward Alice slowly, deliberately, the way you would approach a wounded animal.

And Alice wanted so badly to forget. She could feel it, the anger, the hate the fear and loneliness. It was seeping into her mind, poisoning her thoughts and leaving them scared and rotten.

The roots of madness were beginning to grow and Alice knew if she didn't get help then they would grow and strive there.

"How?" Rabbit kneeled in front of Alice her white hair shimmering like a veil.

"I can't tell you but I can show you." Alice was doubtful and scared but she nodded anyway. Giving Rabbit permission to do what she pleased.

The girl smiled and reached out a slim finger and stopped right before she touched Alice's forehead.

Alice looked up at the other gir, and for once the overly sweet smile was tinged with sadness.

"I truly do hope you survive this, but maybe im doing more harm then good." But before Alice could say anything Rabbit replaced the finger she was going to place on Alice's forehead her her icy cold lips.

Alice gasped at the searing pain that shot through her head. Her mind was going dark like a light being shut off suddenly.

Consciousness spun away from the young girl, oblivious to the desperate way she was clawing at it.

But before she went Alice could feel herself falling, through the air. She tried grasping around her but couldn't move, the blackness of sleep pulling her down. Alice could still hear though. The air rushing past her ears and the soft chuckle of Rabbit. Her words were like a blanket tucking Alice in and assuring her it was okay to let the darkness take her.

"Down the Rabbit's hold she falls, never to return." Rabbit laughed softly, watching the mother of Wonderland's fall from grace.


	3. Chapter 3

_**YES! I finally found time to get the new chapter up..Dear God..I know I created him and everything but I freakin love Ches xD  
Towards the end there are a few lines that are similar to Alice's first metting with Cheshire Cat In the Original Alice In Wonderland By Lewis Carroll but I tried to change them around a bit..  
But don't Rabbit will be appearing in the next chapter and hopefully explain what the shit is going on xD  
Just as a note Alice remembers nothing! She doesn't remember she ever even had a family although she does remember that Rabbit is the one that sent her their so Chaa Enjoy!  
P.s (Sorry about any Typo's xD)**_

Chapter 3

Ches was lounging in a tree when he saw the girl falling from the sky at a speed she would surely splatter at.

Actually he was sitting in an "Eat Me Not" tree. They were vicious buggers and liked the taste of flesh.

So to keep from getting eaten Ches sharpened his claws on the tree, ignoring the screeches it let out. It knew that Cheshire Cat was no one to be messed with though. Especially not in his own forest.

Ches wasn't in the most active of moods today so he stayed where he was, waiting for the girl to hit the ground and shatter into a thousand pieces.

But to his surprise and dismay something saved her before she hit the ground. When she was only a few feet away from the clearings floor she stopped suddenly, as if something had caught her mid-air.

Then she floated gently to the ground like a leaf falling from a tree in Autumn.

Cheshire growled angrily, he had just been cheated out of what could have been an entertaining show. But then he remembered that the girl was unharmed which meant he could still have a little fun and inflict the damage himself.

So he swung from the tree gracefully, his tail moving sensually with anticipation. But he got bored of walking so he simply pictured the exact spot she had fallen and teleported there.

Laid down in the grass before him was a peculiar looking girl. She could have been only about eleven or twelve. Ches frowned, she really was weird looking child.

The young man looked her over trying to figure out why she looked so familiar, and what she was.

_No fangs, no claws, no tail, no ears,no tattoos piercings or weapons._

Ches was dumbfounded,how could anyone even think about being in Wonderland without any weapons! This girl deserved to be killed for her stupidity.

Cheshire could feel his claws coming out with the promise of a fresh kill. But something made him hesitate. The young girl before him was beautiful, even if she didn't fit into Wonderland.

Raven black hair cascaded around her and fanned out on the blue grass of the clearing. The darkness of her hair made her skin look paler than it already was. Her lips were a deep red colour and her face held a childs innocence. Her eyes were closed and her long eye lashes set shadows across her cheekbones.

She's be beyond lovely if she lived to be a young woman. But Ches adored killing and knew he might not get an opportunity like this for a while.

Finally though it clicked, she looked exactly like Akio. Although she was a girl they looked almost identical. How could Cheshire not have seen it before? He felt a dull ache in his heart.

_Akio's time is over, _he growled to himself and raised his clawed hand about to slash deep into her chest.

*Alice*

"Open your eyes, Alice!" Something deep within her screamed.

_I can't their to heavy. _She argued back, she was stubborn even with herself.

"Now ALICE!", Alice could hear the panic in that voice. So she forced open her eyes and gasped at what she saw.

There was a boy, no more than twenty standing above kneeling over her. But then Alice wasn't exactly sure you could call him a _boy_.

His hair was a deep purple colour, cut in layers that fell across his face like arrows pointing and drawing attention to his high cheekbones. The ends of his hair were jet black, which gave his hair even more of a punk, Emo look.

His eyes were the same deep purple as his hair, only slitted like a cats and were framed with thick dark lashes.

And peeking out from his messy unruly hair were two delicately pointed cat ears. Covered in plum coloured fur. An uncountable number of piercing covered the ears, bars, hoops and studs covered every inch of them. They twitched slightly as if picking up every little sound.

His mouth was open slightly and Alice could see he had sharp canines. Actually they were more like cat fangs than anything.

He was plae and slim but still toned and muscular. He had on what looked like a waist coat the same velvety purple as his hair and ears, with black stripes, only he had no shirt on inside it which meant everyone had a perfect view of his muscled chest.

He also had on tight fitting black jeans and purple combat boots. On each wrist he adorned a spiked bracelet, through his right eyebrow was a jet black metal bar, and his lip sported a equally dark hoop.

And frozen behind him in mid-air was a cats tail, the same colour as his ears and hair.

Alice was totally in awe at his appearance paying no attention to the fact his claws were mere inches from her chest.

The young man in front of her had a horrified look on his face, as if he was witnessing something very unpleasant while looking into Alice's eyes.

He wasn't moving almost as if he was frozen in time so Alice took this opportunity to survey herself.

She was wearing a black hoop skirt that was more like a tutu than anything else. It just barely covered her. And it had a show white frilly apron attached to the front of it. On top Alice was wearing a corset that was frankly uncomfortable and constricted her breathing, but instead of being laced up the back there were two white twin ribbons laced up either side of the corset.

_What peculiar clothing._

Finally the strange boy leaning over her snapped to attention. He looked down at her with intense distaste. But the young girl was merely struck by his beauty.

"So you're Alice?", he quite literally hissed standing suddenly his tail moving through the air behind him.

"Why yes, and you are?" Alice said angrily, their was no need for his rudeness.

"Im Cheshire Cat." Alice stood now a little shakily and finally took in her surroundings and she couldn't believe was she was seeing. Strange pink and purple tree's loomed around her, and there were huge mushrooms all around the clearing she was standing in, every colour of the rainbow.

The sky was blood red, but not all of it. The small amount that wasn't was pure white like snow, but it was fading fast. The red was seeping onto the white like blood on paper.

"Blood?" Alice said aloud by mistake. The word brought back something..something Alice couldn't quite place.

It wasn't a fully formed thought. It was as if she was so close to finally grasping the thought and remembering but it would twirl away at the last moment teasing and mocking her. There was something important her mind didn't want to remember.

Her head was reeling and their was a dull pain beginning right at Alice's temples. She looked down from the now fully red sky at Ches who was now grinning at her broadly.

"So you don't remember, she won't let you." Alice looked at him oddly, she was quite sick of him and didn't even bother asking for an explanation, knowing he wouldn't give one.

Nonetheless she needed to get out of this strange place. But when she looked around she saw no clear path.

"Which way should I go?", she asked the boy, she didn't expect him to be helpful but thought it polite for her to ask instead of just prancing off.

He had been looking at her as if he was seeing a ghost, but still he had been grinning. Somehow his grin widened even more.

"That depends on where you want to go-" He pointed to his right which led off into the forest which was so thick with the oddly coloured trees that Alice could barely see into it, although it seemed the tree's were growling slightly,- "In that direction lives a Hatter."

He pointed to his left now. "In that direction lives a March Hare, visit either. Their both mad, and they'll both kill you."

What he said shocked Alice, " But I don't wan-"

He was behind Alice now, towering above her. She could swear she could almost see the remains of his grin still floating in the air.

_I've seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat._

Alice couldn't help these strange thoughts that ran through her mind at the most awkward moments, just as you couldn't stop the sun from rising. She could feel it, the dangerous and insane aura that rolled off not only him but this entire place.

This was not a game, Alice could almost taste his willingness to take her life.

" Oh now, that can't be helped were all mad here. Me. You. Oh especially you." He reached down and knotted his hand in the length in her hair. He tugged on it, pulling her head back and revealing her pale and vulnerable neck.

Alice was scared, terrified actually but still she couldn't help but talk back.

"What makes you so sure im mad." She whispered as he ran a claw over her neck and grinned madly. His eyes were glowing with a shocking intensity, he was telling the truth, he really was crazy.

"You must be, or you wouldn't have come here." He whispered in her ear.

This was no magical place full of wonder and adventure. And Alice was sure she wasn't dreaming. No, she had been thrown into a world of nightmares, and one of the most powerful players had the creator in his clutches.

Cheshire Cat was dangerous, reckless, cruel. He was one of the most powerful people in Wonderland.

Simply because he didn't care.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello Beauties! No..I am not dead xD I had this written out for a while as do I have a few other chapters, it's just the agonizing task of typing them..since I have them written in a note book..And I'm lazy :L But anyway enjoy And a special thanks to the amazing DeadlyPen who tweaked the poem that Cheshire says at the end Couldn't have done it without you girl! *Vomits rainbows and shits out unicorns* You do not understand how fun it is writing this xD But yeah just imagine...Well I dunno but imagine the best thing ever..yeah..that's equivalent to writing this :3!

Chapter 3

"Remember Alice. Why are you here? What were you running from?" He still had Alice in his tight grip, and although she was struggling to pull away he was holding her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe.

What was it that she was running from? That strange girl who called herself Rabbit? Why had she come? Why did Alice agree to go with her? There had to b- searing pain in her head. Quick, blinding, like fire. Burning a path through her thoughts. She couldn't think, could only feel. It hurt so much.

But she did hear Cheshire laughing, as she fell to her knee's. He had finally let her go. But it didn't matter to her. Her hands were pressed to either side of her head, trying to crush the pain.

*******Cheshire Cat***

It was fun toying with her. She looked far to much like Akio for the Cat's liking. But play time was over. Although he couldn't bring himself to kill her _because_ she looked so much like Akio.

Ches also knew how important she was, what she had gone through but now couldn't remember, he knew everything she could do, what she could do for Wonderland. Hell this pip squeak had created Wonderland.

Ches knew what her being here meant. Yet he couldn't bring himself to give a shit. Let someone else find her. Let someone else kill her. She was on her knee's, her green eyes squeezed shut and her hands pressed to her head.

Ches had come to hate eyes. Of course it was his own fault he had these powers, he had stolen them. The Caterpillars abilities where something everyone wanted in Wonderland.

By looking into some ones eyes he could see everything..well not everything. He could see the past and present, the present meaning everything you don't know. The truth about every thought and question you've ever had. Everything you've ever thought whether you remember it or not. But he couldn't see the future, even the Cheshire Cat couldn't steal the future from the Caterpillars. If he had known this power would get him into so much trouble he would have never taken it.

Cheshire began to fade, bored of his games with the little girl. But solidified the second he heard _her_ voice.

Rabbit's pink eyes flared dangerously. "Where do you think you're going Cat?" She spat the word as she lunged for him. But he reappeared a few feet away.

Rabbit was no longer in the form of a child. She was a full grown woman no older that nineteen. Her face had lost it's childlike roundness. She was tall and slim but had womanly curves. The white hair that all from the White family inherited reached her lower back.

The girl looked like an angel. An angel who was fit to strangle Cheshire Cat but an angel nonetheless.

"I'm leaving Rabbit, nothing you can say will stop me. You brought her here, she's your problem." Rabbit gritted her teeth and walked towards Ches who was now standing in the middle of the clearing.

"You know what I'm going to ask you Cat and all would go smoother if you just agree. I don't want to have to take one of those nine lives."

Cheshire cat looked at her hard. He owed nothing to Rabbit or any of the Whites for that matter.

"I have no obligations to you." Ches grinned widely.

Rabbit returned the smile knowing what she would say next would sting like a dragonswitch bite.

"But you do owe the Caterpillars, one in particular-" Cheshire snarled at her. " She can return them to power. She might be able to give Wonderland it's sanity back." Che had had enough of Rabbit. He pulled him arm back and let his fist fly, but of course it only connected with air.

Rabbit was a few feet away from him now.

"Wonderland can never gain something it didn't have in the first place. And how dare you tell me what I owe and what I do not."

Rabbit was probably one of the only people faster than Cheshire in Wonderland and it irritated him to no end. Quick as lightning she was in front of him, her hand cupping his face. One thing about Rabbit was that her emotions switched up almost without warning, going from anger to gentleness was nothing new for her.

But Ches didn't flinch away, no matter how much he wanted to he wouldn't be the first one to pull away.

"Im sorry Ches. But look at her, is is Akio's image. She can save us, restore the Caterpillar's to power. You've tried for so long to make things up to Akio. You'd have given him the world if you could. This is the last thing you can do for him, the most important thing. Give him the throne he was destined for."

Ches gritted his teeth. There it was again. That dull ache in his chest that made itself more evident whenever Akio's name was mentioned. She was right though. There was nothing else he could possibly do for that damned Caterpillar.

Except save this girl.

From a world she created.

But he wanted the truth first.

"And you? Why did you drop her in Cheshire Forest? You know my domain isn't safe. Some of the nastiest creatures in Wonderland reside here." Rabbit's eyes were still that intense pink they were before, only now it was from it physical contact with Ches.

He was alluring, forbidden, wrong, perfect. Although Rabbit had known him for many years she still found him hard to resist. There was something about the way he moved and carried himself that made him irresistible. There was only one other in all of Wonderland that passed him out when it came to sex appeal.

"You're the only one in Wonderland who would have enough sense not to kill her after you found out who she was." Cheshire grabbed her hand which was now trailing down his neck. He had no love for Rabbit and didn't want her getting carried away.

"And why can't you take care of her? You were foolish to bring her here, she might have been going insane but she was better off in the real world. Now she's trapped inside her own mind Rabbit, what good will that do her?" Rabbit frowned at the sudden loss of contact. These questions were pointless, Cheshire already knew the answer to them. He knew the second he had looked her in the eye. But still he wanted her to say it a loud.

"The more she see's me, the more likely the memory wall will break, it won't do her any harm but she needs to grow stronger first. Both physically and mentally. When the time comes that she is ready I'll crush the wall myself and the memories will hit her like a tidal wave. She'll be angry, bitter, hurt. The perfect fuel to kill the Queen Of Hearts.

You're right I brought her here for revenge. No one in Wonderland can destroy the Queen, but Alice can, Alice created her."

Cheshire smiled, Rabbit acted superior, she pretended that emotions like revenge and hate were above her. She pretended that she had control over her own madness when in reality she was more blood thirsty than most. Cheshire knew how much she was physically restraining herself from lashing out at him.

What a sad little bunny she was.

She might have controlled the game up till now but it was Cheshire's turn.

He took a step closer to her so that they were chest to chest. Rabbit was tall but he still towered above her.

"That's not the only reason bunny boo. You don't think you'll be able to control your urges if she lives with you full time. You're afraid you'll kill her!" Rabbit took a step back a pained expression on her face.

"You want revenge for her killing the Duchess. You don't want to help Wonderland, or restore the Caterpillars to their throne.

And you need me to help. Why? Because I'm a little more sane than most? Because I can control my blood lust because of the powers I stole?" He could have continued but stopped, knowing she would want to defend herself.

"You should want revenge too! The Dutchess cared for you, cared for both of us. She was murdered on a whim, the Queen was bored and had nothing to do so she killed the one person who took you in when no one else would." Rabbit sank to her knees her snowy white dress pooled around her on the blue grass. Unshed tears were streaming down her face. But she wasn't sobbing. Her sorrow was silent, just as Rabbit usually was. This is the most emotion Ches had ever seen out of her.

"You should be used to the ways of Wonderland, you've lived for hundreds of years Rabbit.

Those of us who are immortal should be used to the pain Wonderland brings." Cheshire's words were harsh but his voice gentle. He knelt in front of Rabbit, running his warm thumb across her cheek wiping away some of the tears.

He had gotten his point across, had been cruel and mean. But again he was bored of the game.

_Play the part Chesh, wrap this up how everyone would expect you to._

"You're the head of the White's, now act like it. I'll take care of the runt how I see fit. I'll teach her the way's of the Cheshire's so that she has a chance of overthrowing the Queen and escaping this nightmare. Rabbit nodded but stayed silent but Ches could see gratitude written all over her face.

The she was gone, off to move the other pieces into play no doubt.

And Ches was left with a little girl who was off in the corner of the clearing, moaning from pain. He was left to take care of a girl who was stubborn, never asked the right questions and looked exactly like the one person he didn't want to have to see everyday.

He teleported next to her and grabbed her wrists. Her hands were still clutching her head desperately

and he pulled the small shaking form of the girl to him.

She buried her face in his chest. Her earlier fear of him forgotten.

Alice didn't realize it but it was the only time he would show her any affection. Alice wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't understand why when this boy touched her the pain in her head immediately receded. She didn't understand why the sky was red and the grass blue. But at the time she didn't care, could only focus on the strange warmth that blossomed in her chest while he was touching her.

"Dear little Alice  
In this world full malice  
There are several rules

Never show fear  
They feed on it dear  
And know your place is among us

Remember the heart  
Always aim for the heart  
Don't forget that I'll always be near

The Hatter, The Hare, The Tweedles, The Whites  
The Cheshire and Caterpillars  
We are all your knights

Wonderland is corrupted  
Constant Evil uninterrupted  
But you are Her creator

And the only one who can save Her..." He said it as if he was giving her a glimpse of her future, a prophecy or her own personal rule book. It was eerie the way he said it, his chest rumbling with his deep voice.

Alice was sure his words were meant to scare her. Even though he was comforting her, he couldn't help himself. But Alice did find comfort in his words.

Cheshire wasn't exactly sure how to deal with Alice, he would take care of her his own way. The only way he knew how. The way all the Cheshire's raised their own.

In involved pain, torture and vigorous training.

Cheshire was the best in Wonderland at what he did. And he had to make sure Alice stayed a secret. He had to make sure she was ignorant and clueless she couldn't know why she was here, what she was meant to do. She couldn't know until her training was complete

And oh how cruel that training would be.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Heyyy Hawties! Chapter 4 yayayayyayayaya..I love this story that im writing so I hope you do too.**_

Chapter 4  
He carried Alice from that clearing and took her to the Cheshire Mansion where on no two days the interior was the same. There were so many rooms that if Alice had stayed there all her life she would never have enough time to explore and everyday there were new ones.  
Everyday Alice trained, hand to hand combat, knife throwing, sparing, archery, shooting, gymnastics.  
It wasn't easy of course, and Cheshire wasn't gentle with her. He had even broken bones. But Alice never questioned what she was training for, why she was here, why Ches had taken her in, why she had never seen anyone else in this strange world. She never even questioned how this world could even be real.  
It wasn't because she was naive that she didn't ask these questions, it was because Alice was patient and knew the time would come when all was revealed.  
But it wasn't only that. Alice wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.  
So she kept her mouth shut. Mended her cuts, bruises and broken bones. It wasn't easy for the young girl. In fact it was very hard indeed.  
But after a few years she could keep up with Cheshire, barely. She could avoid his jabs and cuts. Could even block a few. And once, one time only, was she able to disarm him. But she had yet to lay a blow on him. He was too quick, too skilled.  
At first had hated the training, loathed it with every fiber of her being. She was a girl. Girl's were supposed to be playing with Barbie's not throwing knives and swords at a boy who was more cat than human.  
But after a while Wonderland got to Alice. The very love for blood and killing that lingered in the air like a thick cloud seeped into her and she began to love the sound of two swords clashing.  
She adored all of her training. She thought it somehow brought her closer to the cat. Until the day she woke up in darkness. Of course the young girl of sixteen was fairly alarmed. She wasn't in her nice warm bed. Instead she was tied to a chair. A steel chair to be exact. She was still in her pyjama's and pulled at her metal bindings to no avail. The young girl was frantic.  
But somehow that panic receded when her eyes found the tiny bit of light that was leaking into the room. Ches was leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. His ears perked up. She couldn't really see his face. Just the general outline of him.  
"You've reached the last level of your training." He said, his voice clear and strong. There was no remorse in that voice for what he was about to do.  
But Alice's voice ran cold. She knew that last part of her training wouldn't be fun. And she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. Alice felt as if she was having a panic attack.  
Suddenly there wasn't enough air in the room and everything felt too hot and then too cold.  
But Ches -never one to hesitate- went on.  
"You will be injected with Wonderlands most lethal drugs, you will build up an immunity to them.  
You will be left here, for days with limited food and water. And you will stay in the dark.  
On the days I do come to visit, you will be tortured. This will go on for however long it takes you to break. Your mind will shatter, all your spirit and resolve crushed. You will not be pushed to your limit because we will go beyond that.  
You will be on the brink of death. Your mind must rebuild itself then. You will see things clearer, react faster. Your soul will be stronger. But if you do not do this then you will slip into death and accept defeat.  
This is a test all heir's to the Cheshire family have to go through. It is only then determined whether they are strong enough to be the head of our family. I am the leader of the Cheshire's and although you will never be head of the family you have still been trained like a true Cheshire." Alice really couldn't breathe now. What he was saying wasn't even making sense to her. Torture, drugs, constant darkness, possible death? The dark haired girl struggled against her bindings but it did no good. They were like steel bracelets clamped across her wrists.  
She could hear the smile in Cheshire's voice when he spoke. "You may think me cruel but it is our way. I know your abilities, I know what you can do. You will survive."  
With that he shut the door and left her in complete darkness. Alice could think of nothing else to do but scream.  
So she screamed for hours until she had lost her voice and it felt like her throat was bleeding.  
She screamed until her ears were ringing painfully from her own voice, and even when she stopped she could still hear herself.  
She screamed until she was positive no one would let her out.  
There was nothing to do but wait. Wait for Cheshire to come back and torture her. Wait for him to inject her with poisonous toxins.  
It's a terrible thing waiting.  
But even worse when you're waiting for your death.

Cheshire did come back. Alice wasn't sure how long it had taken him though. She drifted in and out of consciousness and couldn't tell if it had been days, weeks, or hours. But her fear of being tortured was pushed aside when the Cat flicked on the light. At first it was painful. Beyond painful actually. But Alice didn't care, finally the darkness was gone.  
When the dark haired girl blinked the tears out of her eyes and she finally adjusted she could see she wasn't in a frightening room, it was really quite plain.  
It was small, barely large enough to fit both her and Ches. No windows. Plain white walls. Plain white tiled floor. There really wasn't much to say about it other than it looked and smelled quite sterile.  
It really was the perfect room for torture. The room was pure without blemish.  
The perfectness of it almost made your eyes slide off the walls.  
There was nothing to focus on. Nothing to hold onto and concentrate on. Other than your own agonizing pain of course.  
Cheshire had a huge duffel bag thrown over his shoulder, filled with all his favorite toys. He dropped the heavy bag and stood in front of the trembling girl.  
"Now now, you're shaking and I haven't even touched you yet." He was smirking down at her, and Alice felt her anger begin to bubble up.  
Cheshire wasn't supposed to be enjoying this. He was supposed to do what he had to. He was supposed to hesitate and feel torn up inside because he was about to torture the girl he had taken care of for four years. He was supposed to care.  
Or at least have the decency not to smile.  
Alice was angry, and hurt. So she decided to do what only she could and stick the torture. And to do so with a smile on her face.  
So she plastered the sweetest smile she could muster and met his slitted eyes with her own which she knew were blazing.  
"That a girl. Think you're ready for your first dose of Wonderland's finest? Had it made by Rabbit yesterday, you're the first to try it."  
Alice kept the smile on her face when in reality she was beginning to panic again, her stomach in knots.  
"Bring it."  
Cheshire grinned and reached behind his back pulling a dagger from the waistband of his jeans. He then reached into his waist coat pocket and pulled out a small vial filled with bright green liquid.  
He started forward and Alice pushed herself as far as she could into the chair, the cold metal stealing her body heat. But it was useless.  
Cheshire cut away the thin fabric of her pajama top so that she was only in her bra. But she didn't even have time to feel embarrassed before he brought the dagger across her breast cutting a thin but deep gash.  
Alice hissed at the burning pain from the cut and glaring up at Cheshire she seen he had the lid off the vial and was pouring the green contents onto her wounds. To Alice's surprise and horror all of the contents of the bottle soaked into the ugly gash in her skin, drinking the menacing liquid up.  
She immediately felt light headed and looked up the the purple haired man, realizing that there were now three Cheshire's. All of them dressed the same and all of them grinning. The walls were no longer white and were now oozing red goo.  
Alice laughed, this was beyond strange. There was little mice running around her feet and her entire world was upside down.  
This was okay, random and weird but okay. She could deal.  
At least that was what the dark haired girl thought before the flashback came.  
First there was a scream. Blood curdling ear drum popping screaming. Alice could feel her heart racing. Much faster than a human heart should be able to. Then she was no longer strapped to the metal chair. Cheshire was no longer with her.  
She was in a black room, only Alice wasn't even sure if it was a room . It simply looked like nothingness. And Alice walked and she ran, and she twirled and she jumped and skipped but there was no end to this darkness that was weighing on her like a blanket. She should have been screaming, crying and calling out for help. But she was so numb from the drugs that she didn't care.  
So Alice sat and did nothing.  
It was then she looked up. And what she saw was a massive mirror. She saw her own blissfully unaware face and nothingness reflected in the mirror. She stared, and stared, and stared almost challenging her reflection to make a move.  
But then a huge crack began to form in the mirror and it got bigger and bigger until the entire crystal ceiling shattered.  
The diamond like shards fell in slow motion. But one fell faster than the others. It was falling directly above the young girl and she was fascinated and held out her hand. The piece of glass falling into her palm delicately. It was cold but Alice closed her hand around the sharp mirror. Not caring that the jagged edges were cutting into her skin.  
Finally blood began to flow from her clenched fist and she opened her palm slowly looking into the blood stained mirror.  
Before she could see her reflection though a stiff cold hand snaked up from the black floor grabbing the bleeding girls wrist painfully.  
The young girl winced at the cold menacing grasp. The floor seemed to turn to inky black water at the space in which the hand was reaching out. The ground was rippling, threatening to pull Alice under it's depths any minute.  
"Why don't you remember Alice? HOW COULD WE SLIP YOUR MIND SO EASILY!?" The voice screeched, sounding hollow and dead. Although the hand had no visible body to go with it Alice could tell the voice belonged to it.  
But the young girl knew she was under the drugs spell. She had long ago accepted the fact that she couldn't remember anything of her past before her time in Wonderland.  
Which was as good as not having one.  
Alice jerked her hand away and stood. The piece of glass still in her palm. All the other pieces had frozen mid air and now twinkled like stars above her head.  
The hand that had grabbed her was writhing shaking, trying to reach out and grab her again.  
Alice didn't have memories before Wonderland.  
But she had made some, and that was good enough for her.  
She had made a past for herself here.  
"I remember my life in Wonderland , and right now that's the only one that matters." She snarled at the hand. Which immediately froze and then began screeching in pain. Slowly sinking into the ground again.  
A familiar voice echoed through the nothingness.  
"Above you are your memories of Wonderland, Alice. Chose them wisely. They may help you get through this torture." Alice immediately dropped the bloodied shard that was in her hand, it sank into the ground but she didn't notice because she was already grabbing for another shard.  
She held the piece to her chest and was immediately sucked into a memory.


	6. Chapter 6

_**This chapter is so freakin long I know xD It took forever to write :L Mother of god I hope you enjoy! And to Fionn thank you for your awesome drawings, of Cheshire, Hatter, and Alice, oh and of Rabbit! I love them :D**_

Chapter 6

She was fighting with Cheshire and was sweating profusely. Her arms were on fire and she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Cheshire on the other hand hadn't broken a sweat. Alice had taken her eyes off his for less than a second. But that was all it took.

The next thing she knew her weapon was thrown across the room and she was on the ground, the little bit of air she did have was knocked out of her.

Cheshire's boot was digging into her chest painfully and she was wheezing.

"Don't ever look away from your opponents eyes. Not only is it insulting but it's fucking stupid." He spat at Alice. Putting more pressure on her chest with his boot.

She had been fighting him all day with no breaks. She was tired, thirsty, hungry, and had never had to pee so bad in her entire life.

The dark haired girl was gasping for breathe and lifted her arm slowly looking Cheshire in the eye.

He was too strong and she was to tired to even attempt to throw him off her. So she did the only thing she could do at a time like this.

She flipped him the bird.

Cheshire's eyes widened for a split second before he regained composure and smiled.

He took his foot from Alice's chest and finally the girl could breathe again. But it was short lived. Cheshire didn't lift his foot to let her breathe. He lifted it so he could slam it back down again.

Alice heard her rub crack before she felt it. It's quite cruel being able to hear the pain before you feel it.

But then again it doesn't matter once the pain does come. It seeps into your every thought so that you are unable to think about anything else except the pain you're in.

Alice couldn't help but scream and cry, but she learned quickly that moving made it hurt more.

But through the cloud of pain she was aware of Cheshire sitting down beside her. His full lips pulled into a pout. And he poked at the broken rib gently with his index finger.

"Quite a nasty break. Unless we get help from Rabbit it's going to take a while to heal. And it's gonna hurt like a bitch. Word of advice for the future? Learn your place." Alice had been fourteen then, and had never disrespected Cheshire again.

Back to nothingness, reaching for another crystal before she was even fully out of the first memory. Alice could still feel the ache in her now fully healed rib.

But these memories were helping, reminding Alice how much pain she could truly take.

Thrust into another memory.

The warm breeze rushed past Alice as she sat on the roof of the Cheshire Manor. It wasn't easy to get up here, in fact it entailed a lot of swinging, climbing and jumping. But Alice loved it up here. The way the she felt closer to the sky and farther from the ground.

Up here it seemed as if all her unanswered questions (And there was a lot of them) flew away.

She stared up at the sky. There was still a little white left. The red hadn't seeped onto it fully. Alice always wondered why the sky didn't tint all of Wonderland red with it's strange colour. She always wondered why the sky started off white in the morning and then gradually turned red throughout the day.

Alice tore her eyes from the sky and set them on the purple forest that surrounded Cheshire Manor. It was so dense that it seemed to go one forever. It was a barrier between Alice and all the other Wonderlanders.

But the young girl wasn't sure if it was keeping her in or them out.

Before she had time to ponder that thought Cheshire materialized beside her and sat as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

He looked at Alice with curiosity in his eyes. He could tell she was thinking about something intensely. But before he had time to ask, Alice decided to just go for it.

"Ches, the sky...Why does it start off white and then turn red." The cat looked up and didn't meet her eyes when he answered.

"The sky starts off clean and pure every morning. The red of the previous day gone. Bute everyday us Wonderlanders ruin it again.

The sky is like a gauge of how much has been spilt that day and by nightfall it's always completely red. We're the ones who stain the sky everyday." He sounded a bit dazed. His eyes hair half lidded and his eyes blazing around him lazily. His skin was like porcelain and the many piercing in his ears were sparkling.

Alice could see how infinitely sad and lonely he was. She could see the years of pain etched into his perfect face.

He was a mystery , he might be sitting next to her but he was miles away.

Unreachable, perfect, divine.

He sighed deeply when he realized it was beginning to get dark.

There were two suns in Wonderland, they circled around each other all day. Teasing and dancing. The bright orange orbs set at the same time. At dusk they parted from their dance, suddenly flying to opposite sides of Wonderland.

One in the east and one in the west. The setting of the two suns in Wonderland was somehow heart breaking. They had to leave each other at the end of everyday no matter how much they wanted to stay.

But because there were two suns the days were brighter and everything seemed to sparkle more. The nights came quickly though. Almost in the blink of an eye. In reality the suns should have set already.

It seemed as if they were pausing, stopping for a moment to give Alice a little more time. Cheshire stood and brushed invisible dirt off his tight jeans.

"We're pitiful creatures, unable to control ourselves." He whispered as his body was beginning to fade. But Alice panicked. She couldn't let him leave yet. She felt as if she needed to say something but wasn't sure what. So she grabbed at his arm. At first it was like grabbing at air. The faded image of his arm might be still slightly visible but it was no longer solid.

He knew though, that Alice was grasping for him and he decided to re-materialized. The dark haired girl had a hold of his arm and he pulled away gently looking down at her.

Alice cleared her throat and dropped her hand to her lap. It wasn't often that she touched him outside of training.

"You're always able to control yourself. You're stronger than you think." She mumbled still looking down.

She felt Cheshire's warm hand on her head and he ruffled her hair.

"You flatter me Alice. But there is a lot you don't know. It's better not to assume things." Just like that he was gone.

Alice had been thirteen then. It was only then that she realized how much Cheshire was hiding from her.

The nothingness hit her like a tidal wave. She had been so lost in the sights, sounds and smells of the memory that she had completely forgot that it wasn't real. She was soon sick of the all consuming darkness surrounding her and quickly reached for another shard.

Alice couldn't sleep, had been having nightmares for the past few nights. The first few times Ches had quite literally smacked her out of them. Leaving her face red and stinging.

But this time there was no Ches and she was forced to wake herself up -with some difficulty- but the young girl was unable to remember the menacing dream, which seemed to make it all the more frightening.

So she chose to wander until she became tired again. She crawled out of the bed and padded across the room flinging open the door.

She let her feet carry her where they wanted and was surprised to find herself outside of Cheshire's room. His door was wide open and when the young girl peeked in she saw there was no one in the huge room. The cat loved his sleep and was usually in bed before Alice.

Cheshire might love weird clothing but he loved strange furniture even more. His bed was ridiculously large and was perfectly round. Today the bed was rainbow themed. The pillow cushions and blankets all blindingly bright neon colours. The rest of the room was too random and messy to describe. There was a flamingo in the corner along with a mannequin posed suggestively. A huge bubble gum machine was also thrown into the fray. The room had no order, no theme and was utter chaos.

Basically it was the Cheshire Cat in room form.

Alice scratched her head and yawned. No problem, she would just go look for him. He couldn't have gone to far. Who knows he might even be sleep walking. So she dragged her slippered feet and wandered some more.

No one could ever learn the layout because it was never the same.

After a few minutes of opening and closing doors she gave up and sank against one of the walls sliding down. Not only were there hundreds of possible places he could be, there was also the fact that the house was in complete and utter darkness. There was no way she could find her way.

"Think, where could he be?" The dark haired girl sighed. It was no use. She was drawing a blank, she had lived with him for years but still knew nothing about him.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw and orb of light dance it's way down the darkened hallway towards her.

The young girl smiled at the tipsy little light. He had obviously come to her aid.

"Hikari." She whispered as the bright ball rested itself in her palm. He was almost blindingly bright but toned down the light when he felt Alice's discomfort. It looked like the little ball -which was only the size of a tennis ball- would be painfully hot to touch but he only emitted a comfortable warmness.

The orb buzzed slightly to show his content at Alice's touch.

Hikari was the Guardian of the Cheshire Manor. Although Alice didn't think he had a human form. But he was rarely needed as a guardian. So he provided light at night when needed.

But he was also Alice's companion while in the Manor. He never left. And Alice wasn't sure he could. But she loved his company anyway.

"Do you know where he is Hikari." She whispered to the orb holding him up to her face and staring into the silvery light.

He immediately flew into the air and flew back and forth quickly indicating he wouldn't tell her. Alice had learned what all his movements meant a long time ago. She stood and stared at him hard.

"Lead me to him, now." She said sternly hands on hips. Alice probably wouldn't have really cared if she had found him or not but Hikari never denied her anything and now her curiosity was piqued. Hikari gave what resembled a sigh and buzzed down the hallway with Alice following closely.

Alice had long ago stopped counting the twists and turns they had taken and he legs were beyond heavy. They were now in a part of the Manor that Alice had never been before. Then again that wasn't saying much because this place was far to big to explore thoroughly.

Hikari stopped suddenly in front of a door.

To Alice's surprise though this door was different to all the rest in this hallway which were all quite plain.

This door was as black as night and was heavily bolted shut with at least three huge locks. If Cheshire was inside then he had to have gotten Hikari to lock him in there.

Something Alice didn't notice before.

Words were scratched into the frame of the door.

She read them a loud to Hikari, unsure if he could read them or not.

"Blood to Blood,

Ash to Ash.

Those inside,

Never shall pass.

Locked inside is a beast.

A grizzly fate,

Those shall meet,

Who open the door,

And peer inside,

While our young masters,

are still alive.

So flee now pet,

While you still have time.

Run now pet,

Before there's no where to hide.

Be grateful young one, for you still have your life."

Alice's voice cracked fearfully at the end when she noticed that after the last word there was what looked like smears of blood.

She knew she should have turned back, ran away and do exactly what the warning said. But she couldn't, not when Cheshire was inside.

The young girl began to unlock the heavily bolted door as Hikari flew angrily around her head. The bolts were beyond heavy and she was glad for once of her increased strength do to her training.

"Last bolt." Alice grunted to herself as she threw the door open.

It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dimly light room. The only light in the room was coming from the few candles spread out on the ground of the medium sized dwelling place. The room had the eeriness and coldness of a cave.

Alice immediately wanted to leave.

But then the young girl noticed that on the dark walls of the room there were claw marks everywhere. But they were organized into Tally's.

All four walls the ceiling, and the floor were covered with them.

Suddenly Alice heard a snarl come from the middle of the room. She looked down in surprise to find Ches hunched over, with a look of pure horror on his face. His hair was plastered to his forehead and his shirtless body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. He was completely tensed and Alice could see the strain in his muscles. They were so taut they looked as if they were about to snap.

His canines were much longer and much more menacing now and his claws formed into sharp points.

He was clutching himself tightly himself tightly, his nails digging into either side of his ribs. Blood was flowing freely down his sides from where he was he impaling himself with his own claws.

He was shaking violently and his eyes had a deadly wildness about them.

"Run." Was all he said, all he could manage, and even that sounded guttural and animal like.

Tears were welling in the young girls eyes. Not from fear of her safety but because she could see the pain Cheshire was in from trying to control himself. From what though she wasn't sure.

But she wasn't leaving him, not like this.

"I won't leave you." She said quietly, not sure of what to do next.

Cheshire decided for her.

Or rather the blood lust that controlled him decided.

The purple in his eyes were gone. His pupils were so huge that it turned his entire eye black. The Cat stood and moved towards Alice like a hunter stalking his prey.

What was she doing here? How did she find me? Why hasn't she run yet?

Those were the questions Cheshire would have asked both himself and Alice had he been able to.

But it was to late now.

He had been sitting at the foot of her bed, his legs crossed and his elbows resting on her knee's.

He had been watching her twist and turn in her sleep. Ches had just reached out his hand to wake her when instead of seeing the girl in front of him as she was, he was seeing her lying in her own blood her emerald green eyes wide open but glossy and dead. There were huge ugly gashes in her throat and his hands were covered in her blood.

Vile began to rise in his throat as he tried to blink his eyes back to reality, but it took longer than normal and he could feel the tell tale sign of madness creeping up on him and burning in a deep corner of his mind.

He immediately transported himself outside of his "Lock-up room."

The Bloody Twins -bless their blood magic- had put a charm on the door so that he couldn't use his transporting powers once he was in the room. If he was able to use his powers then no one would be safe.

He waited patiently for Hikari to come and finally he felt a familiar heat on his shoulder. He knew he didn't have much time and needed to get in there fast. If he was out while the insanity took over he would surely kill the girl and everyone else that crossed his path.

He had the powers of the Caterpillars which meant he didn't have the constant burning madness. It meant he was the only one able to live with Alice without murdering her.

But instead of constant insanity he got this: About once or twice every month he would transform into an uncontrollable killing machine. No reason, no morals, no understanding.

Just the need to kill everything.

This room was the only thing that stopped him from ripping Alice limb from limb when he got like this.

But she barged in despite the warning on the door. She had just sealed her fate.

This first thing to go was his sense of smell. The blood lust took it for it's own.

Next to go was his hearing. The blood lust took that too.

Then his touch. The blood lust wanted to feel everything crumble.

The last to go was his reason.

There was no going back now.

It hurt to have your body taken over and although it was futile Cheshire always fought against it with all he had.

That was when Alice burst into the room looking around wide eyed. One word, one word was all he could manage.

"Run."

"I won't leave you." She spoke softly, defiance and fear in her eyes. It didn't matter though. Cheshire was already gone. He wanted her, or rather her blood. He wanted to feel her soft ivory flesh tearing under his claws.

And there was no one to stop him.

He advanced towards her swaying slightly. But Alice was routed to the spot, she couldn't move.

Then he was only inches away. He was smiling that all to familiar smile. But it wasn't the same. This time there was murder in his eyes.

He kept his eyes locked on Alice's eyes as he raked his claws across her stomach. Alice moved involuntarily now, falling to he knees heavily. A shriek of pain echoing in the room. She held her stomach tightly trying to keep in the steady flow of blood but to no avail.

The slashes were too deep, her stomach was in shreds. To Alice's surprise it didn't really hurt. Which meant she was in shock. Which was good because if she hadn't been the pain would have been agonizing.

But shock was dangerous.

Alice was doubled over trying to hold together the torn ribbons of her flesh. Because of that she didn't see the battle raging within Cheshire. She had accepted the fact that she was going to die here.

_At least I didn't run._

Once he felt her flesh rip under his claws, once he felt the skin give way and release the flood of red liquid he was able to gain a little control.

He was able to rein in the beast.

Alice's presence helped. Her sacrifice helped. It helped remind himself of who he was. Remind him that he couldn't be the one to hurt her.

It was hard but he did it. Never before was he able to stop himself when he was like this. But there was a first time for everything.

Alice felt him drop to the floor in front of her. She was barely conscious. She had lost far to much blood.

_This is it. He's going to finish me. _

_Atleast it's him._

But he simply pulled her to him. Putting his larger hand over hers and adding pressure to the wound. He was trembling more than her, his breathing shallow and laboured.

He had only held her like this once before. That day in the clearing, her first day in Wonderland.

Although this was an embrace of desperation. He was trying to hold Alice, not only to him but to Wonderland so that her spirit couldn't fly away.

Every second counted now. He picked her up as gently as he could trying to keep his balance since the ground was slippery with her blood.

She didn't even make a sound as he walked through the open door, the spell on the room no longer affecting him.

He had the young girl cradled close. Her head tucked into the crook of his neck fitting their perfectly.

It was only now he realized how small she really was. Usually when she was awake she had such an overpowering personality that you forgot how petite she was. But now with the life draining out of her, Cheshire could see how feeble she was.

"You're a fool. I told you to run." He couldn't help but say a loud while his body and hers began to disappear, about to end up in Rabbit's room.

"You've been alone so long you can't accept the fact I care." She mumbled through blue lips. Half dead and she still talked back. Her inky black hair was matted with dried blood.

Cheshire said nothing. But before they disappeared fully Alice rested a shaking and pale hand on his chest. He was already soaked in her blood, but now fresh blood was rubbed on his stomach.

For the first time in his life the sight of blood made him queasy.

"Will you be there in the morning?" The bleeding girl asked weakly. She knew now that she would be healed now that the old Ches was back. She had complete faith in both Rabbit in Cheshire.

When the purple haired man answered back, Alice had already been claimed by unconsciousness.

" I never am." He sighed sadly. Staring down at the wide eyed Rabbit who was woken from her peaceful slumber.

Alice had been fifteen then, she had learned how stupid loving someone made you, and how much it hurt.

This time though there was no more darkness, no more mirror pieces.

Just painful reality.

God, how painful it was.

Alice stared down in horror at her finger nail's. She was still a little disorientated from the drugs but that worse off quickly.

How those memories were supposed to help her get through torture she had no clue and they definitely weren't helping now.

Cheshire was currently shoving some type of bark under her fingernails. It was like a game.

He would push them under farther, Alice would scream louder.

Push, scream, push, scream, push, scream.


	7. Chapter 7

Merp. I am back, thank you for waiting so long! And a huge thank you to Andrew who wrote the first part of this chapter.

Chapter 7

"Excuse me, March... Do you have a second?" March's gaze rose to see the adolescent at the door to the war room. Alexander Hare, a crack-shot with a flintlock he had been told. March gave a delight-filled smile and gave a short nod.  
"So long as you don't try to murder me with a tube-sock, come in!" Alexander gave a look of confusion and frustration stemming from the confusion. Yet, he entered, despite the nagging feeling to simply leave this mad bastard and his childish ways. The war room was oddly large to compensate for the large archive of ever changing plans, plastering every square inch of the four walls that in-cased the room.  
"I came to consult you about a growing problem... or potential problem that might arise in the future." March, due to his nature of not paying attention, was nonchalantly fiddling with his fountain pen as Alexander spoke, a low mumble to March's mind. A sharp clearing of the throat caught March's attention as Alexander was directing daggers at him behind his glasses.  
"The family is rather concerned, and I use that lightly as they said to me, and I quote 'We are completely shitting ourselves.' Paranoia is running rampant sir, as the members want to know what to do with miss Rabbit who is causing us a spot of bother." That single word, that lone, ever so beautiful name made March summon his sawed- off as he leaped to his feet, the barrel aimed directly and precisely at Alexander's cranium, only to be met by a pair of double- barrel flintlocks, having been taken from Alexander's glasses that were now gone.  
"A bit jumpy today sir...? " March eyed Alexander thoughtfully and dismissed his firearm, Alexander following suit, as his glasses appeared perched upon his nose, March pinching the bridge of his own.  
"Indeed I am my little unicorn, but let me make this as clear as mud, we do not attack or even consider being meany-bobeenys to Rabbit until we have gathered further intel to begin a pub brawl." Yet again, that look of frustration covered Alexander's face, yet he gave a reluctant nod.  
"By your orders sir... " A brief bow and the angry little puberty stricken boy was gone, allowing March to sag against his desk, a sigh escaping his tender, irresistible lips as he held his hand to his chest.  
"My sweet Rabbit... how I miss you..."

"We have problems." March grunted his hands locked behind his head.

"Yes I know, you more so than the rest of us." Rabbit answered, not fully listening. She was in the enormous basement of the White's Manor. Where the most of the darker and not so pleasant potions were kept.

The basement was dark and there were rows and rows of wooden cabinets and units housing not only the most menacing potions in Wonderland but also the very rare and deadly ingredients of Wonderland's most toxic drugs.

Not only were the Whites the keepers of time in Wonderland, they also ran Wonderlands drug underworld hand in hand with the Bloody Twins.

She pulled out some boxes and vials, inspected them and quickly put them back. Her eyes scanned the rows and finally found what she was looking for. Rabbit ran over to it and pulling it out and looking through the clear liquid. The slim vial didn't look like much, the cork keeping the liquid in was a dark brown colour. It wasn't decorative or appealing in any way.

The liquid looked like water but was somewhat thicker. Unless you knew the White's family secrets you would surely walk by it without a second thought. Never realizing how precious and powerful it was. But like many potions it had no name.

With just a small drop of this you could heal almost any wound, sickness or diseases. It did have it's limitations though.

No matter the wish, hope, dream, spell, potion, or force you use you can never bring back a soul that has been claimed by death. Once your clock stops ticking that's it.

To have healing properties so strong a lot of sacrifices had to be made. A lot of blood and tears went into this vial. To save lives you must first give up another.

This potion had been the only thing that had saved Alice when Cheshire had flung her on deaths door. It was more valuable than gold.

Rabbit had been lost in thought staring at the miracle liquid. So much so that she didn't see Hare advancing on her until it was too late. His strong arms pushed her roughly against the unit closest to them. The vial went flying out of her hand and she cursed under her breath, still a little unsteady from them push.

The force of her being thrown against the cabinets sent them flying backwards. The vials, boxes, and bowls, about to tumble and smash off the ground.

Rabbit quickly scrunched up her nose and focused her energy on the falling items. They immediately froze mid air. The liquid inside sloshing inside slightly before freezing too.

The white haired girl breathed a sigh of relief, and stood on her tip toes so that she could pluck the vial she had been holding out of the air. Although it was a bit difficult since Hare had her pinned against the cabinets. His body like a solid unmoving wall of muscle.

Rabbit tucked the liquid inside her pocket and glared at March. Completely forgetting about all the other potions and leaving them suspended mid air.

His chocolate brown eyes were full of warmth of laughter.

" .Fuck." Rabbit hissed angrily. Hare chuckled and tapped her rosy and full bottom lip with his index finger.

"You weren't paying attention. And stop it, you know I love it when you talk dirty." He chimed, pushing himself even harder into Rabbit. His right knee was in between Rabbit's legs and was inching up farther by the second.

The young woman made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat and reining in her desires, pushed him away.

He pouted and his huge brown Hare ears drooped a bit, mirroring his disappointment.

"Well you have my attention now. Really, breaking years worth of potions is sort of unnecessary." Rabbit mumbled smoothing down her leather training gear. She had been training with the young ones earlier and still hadn't changed.

"Yes, yes. Well anyway, my dark ray of sunshine, as I said before we have problems. The feuding is getting worse, the quarrels more frequent and the death toll higher for both our families.

Oh and that little shit Alexander is getting suspicious." March had his arms crossed as he said this, watching the way Rabbit moved around quickly swiping all the vials from the air and straightening the half fallen cabinet.

She moved with so much grace and speed it was hard to look away from her.

The white haired girl sighed. Looks like it was finally time to come clean. The only reason she needed this healing stuff was because Alice would be half dead when Cheshire was done with the last part of her training. When she was fully healed, in both mind and body, they'd tell her her purpose. They'd tell her everything.

That was when all the pieces would fall into place.

That was when the six great families of Wonderland would come together and help Alice overthrow the Queen. March Hare was the leader of the Hare family. The Hares and the Whites had been feuding for so many years they had forgotten how it had started.

And this wide eyed bushy tailed, gun toting maniac just happened to be Rabbit's one and only love.

And she hadn't told him about Alice yet.

"I have to tell you som-" Hare's strong arms around her waist startled her and she stopped mid sentence leaning into his embrace.

"I know you've been keeping something from me-"He whispered into Rabbit's ear, his hot breath tickling her.

"But I don't want to know right now, not when I have other things to deal with." The young woman shivered and nodded her head in approval.

March Hare was always late. Always quick to pull his gun. Always joking. And was always the last to know, by choice of course. She may not be able to tell him about Alice right now but she could at least try and help with all the other problems. He would find out about Alice when the time was right.

"You and I both know we can't stop the feuding. But you need to stop reacting when someone says my name."His arms immediately tightened around her.

"They want you dead Rabbit. They think that if they kill you then the entire White family will fall." The young woman chuckled, they had tried to kill her countless times, and had failed countless times. Rabbit's life was not like a feeble candle, easy to blow out and impossible to relight. She was like a forest fire, dangerous, deadly, chaotic, impossible to stop. You had to let it burn it's way through everything and only then could you pray that the flames would go out. But there would always be that little spark, that could relight the entire thing again.

March spun her around quickly so that she was facing him. Right before he smushed her face into his chest Rabbit was able to glance at his face. His dark eyes were full of rage, his golden locks slightly dishevelled.

"We're on the brink of war Rabbit and my brothers are trying to rip my power right from under me. This has gone on long enough." He was squeezing the white haired girl way to tight. She couldn't breathe with her face pushed into the hard ridges of his chest.

"Well what the fuck do you want me to do about it?" She hissed.

Rabbit could feel from the way he had tensed she had only worsened his anger.

Before she had even registered what was going on she was slammed to the ground painfully with Hares gun pressed to her throat. He would never shoot her of course. She was actually surprised he was being this rough with her.

The look of rage on his face would have made anyone in Wonderland cower with fear. But Rabbit loved it. She was used to being stronger than everyone else. But March was her equal. He didn't treat her like a princess. He never gave into her demands.

And March Hare mad was the sexiest thing she had ever seen.

His warm body was pushed against her own and he was breathing heavily. All he was wearing was a thin black T-shirt- that showed off his muscled and heavily tattooed arms- pure white baggy jeans that were riding low on his waist, every time he moved you caught a glimpse of his narrow hips and his parallel Adonis lines- and black laced up combat boots.

Rabbit envisioned the delicious tattoo of Hare's precious gun going down the length of his back. It wasn't there now of course since he had called his weapon forth. But it would return to tattoo form and the place on his back when he was done with his weapon.

Hare had an uncountable number of tattoo's and Rabbit loved them all, had stared at them for hours and memorized each and every curve and sweep. But the tattoo of his weapon that dipped down the length of his back and followed the path of his spine, was her favourite. Probably because Wonderlander's spirit weapons took on the shape of their owners souls, and no two peoples weapons were the same. That tattoo meant that Rabbit was able to view Hares's soul whenever she wanted.

Hare could see the lust in Rabbit's eyes, the way they glowed brighter and more intensely.

His eyes travelled down her face, moving past her high cheekbones and small nose and finally rested on her pink lips. He had kissed her a hundred times, no a thousand. But still every kiss they shared was like their first.

"You know I want to kill you." He murmured, his moth closing the distance and finally meeting hers. Rabbit gasped as electricity flowed through her and set every nerve ending off. This was no gentle kiss. This was demanding and all consuming. Their mouths were open and their tongues clashed fighting for dominance.

The kiss was bruising and had a lip crushing intensity. Teeth scraped against each other while Rabbit's hands wandered around Hare's chest.

But his shirt was blocking her explorations and was immediately ripped off. Mach growled against the white haired girls lips as he felt the fabric being ripped from his body.

Hares own hands went to Rabbit's silky strands of hair, searching for the one thing she hated most about herself. After running his hands through the slightly teased and impossibly long strands he finally found what he was looking for. He immediately unpinned them and released them from their bindings

Rabbit groaned as her ears sprung free. She always kept them pinned back and unless you knew they were there then you would have never guessed that she had actual rabbit ears.

Rabbit hated the large furry things that were similar to Hare's own ears, but hers were slightly smaller.

Rabbit was known throughout Wonderland. The drug addicts worshipped her and both the commoners and the member of the other six families respected and feared her.

But who was going to tremble before an oversized bunny?

"Why do you insist on them being free?" The white haired girl groaned trailing kisses down his jaw and throat.

"You're more beautiful without them tied back." He whispered beginning to untie the criss crossing knot of ribbon that tied the front of her catsuit together.

Rabbit wanted him so badly. She wanted him touching her, his lips on hers. She wanted to feel him all around her. She wanted to feel him everywhere and to not be able to think of anything but him.

But here and now wasn't the place. They were in the middle of a basement and if someone opened the basement door the first thing they would see was Rabbit and Hare. The young woman let her lips find Hare's again and poured all her want into the kiss. She nipped at his bottom lip gently before pulling back, ignoring his sounds of annoyance. She quickly untangled herself from their embrace before Hare was fully aware of what was going on. Re-lacing the ribbon in her shirt, she spoke a little breathlessly.

"We'll have time for that later. In the mean time we're about to have company."

Rabbit never unbound her ears unless she was fighting. With her ears free she had remarkable hearing. Which meant she could hear the soft footsteps coming down the hall. If Hare hadn't unpinned them then there would have been trouble. March's mind was too foggy to even take notice of the footsteps. But now that Rabbit said something his own ears perked up.

He looked around unsure of what to do with himself, but his attention was quickly drawn back to Rabbit when he sensed a vial flying towards his head.

March caught the bottle with a closed fist and opened his hand to peer at the milky liquid. The top of the bottle had a card attatched with the words

"Drink Me." written in Rabbit's elegant handwriting.

Hare wasn't sure what the potion would do but he trusted the white haired girl with his life so he quickly untwisted the top and chugged the contents.

The effect was immediate.

Rabbit watched until Hare shrank until he was only a few inches tall. The white haired girl was sure he was cursing furiously since he was stomping his foot but both he and his voice box had become so small that nothing cold be heard. He looked like a doll with his clothes and body shrunken down. Albeit a punk doll but still.

Rabbit took a deep breath and blew a warm gust of air at him as hard as she could. He immediately flew backwards, yelling, under one of the cabinets. Seconds later the door burst open.

Rabbit was doing her best to look inauspicious by opening the cabinet doors that she had been leaning on against seconds before.

"Rabbit, what are you doing down here. We've been all been looking for you." The young woman stood and turned towards the basement door. Standing there in all her frilly glory was Rabbit's second in command.

Her dark olive toned skin was slightly flustered from all the running around. Her large chocolate brown eyes were similar to Hare's in colour but not shape or size. Her 's were huge and almond shaped and were her most prominent feature. Her long lashes were like curtains and the world seemed a little more dark every time she closed those doe eyes of hers.

Her hair was cut into short severe layers but the length of it fell to the middle of her back . The short layers were dark brown and the rest of the length of her hair was a bright red blood colour . The red of her hair set of the tan colour of her skin perfectly. She was tiny. No more than five foot, and walked with a ballerina's grace. Her face was warm and welcoming but there was something cold behind those chocolate brown eyes.

There was a hoop in the girls small but proud nose and she had an uncountable number of piercings in her ears and also a bar going through her tongue.

She was obsessed with all things Lolita in style and her choice of clothing differed everyday, she wore Princess Lolita, Kuro and Shiro Lolita, Sailor Lolita, Country Lolita, Wa Lolita, Qi Lolita, and Bittersweet Lolita. But Guro was her favourite. Each theme brought with it a different approach to the style of Lolita. Princess was more girly, Kuro and Shiro more contrasting with black and white, Sailor was more stripes and collars, Country was more flowery, Wa was more kimono wear and was Japanese themed, while Qi was more Chinese based with silk slippers and bun covers, and Bittersweet was more youthful black and frilly, while Guro Lolita was more "Broken Doll" and "Innocent Gore", the young woman preferred this style because it was more dramatic makeup and she was able to wear bandages which she usually actually needed due to all her fighting.

But more of the clothes in Wonderland were Gothic based, and most of the women's clothes were Lolita in style. And if not Lolita then quite wild in origin.

The fashion of this world was created by the wandering mind of a young girl stuck between child's dress up and Victorian styled clothes.

But currently this girl was wearing a black frilly dress with a cupcake shaped skirt and a tight corset, underneath were white stockings that were lacy on the top. The sleeves of the dress were puffy and there was a white Ribbon tied around the girls slim waist. There were pure white bandages covering her arms, and laced up ankle boots adorned her feet.

No matter the clothes she was always ready to fight.

The girl loved everything cute but she still have a dark side. She was probably the best fighter the White's had. It was a long time since since Rabbit and the girl had spared but Rabbit was sure that the girl could easily bet her. But then again the white haired girl could just be over-estimating her.

The girl was baby faced, tiny, irritable, cute and deadly. She was Rabbit's lieutenant and her best friend.

Jinx Wynter, a name befitting both her personality and beauty. She Jinxed those who crossed her path to death and was as cold as Winter at times.

Jinx should have been head of the family, she had all the skills ,all the knowledge, all the courage and wisdom, and all the power both spiritually and physically but for some reason she stepped down and let Rabbit take her place.

Jinx didn't wait for an answer but leaned forward into the basement, her hands clasped behind her back, her nose wrinkled, and balancing on her tiptoes.

"It smells disgusting in here." She said he voice tinkling like bells.

Rabbit raised an eyebrow and looked around.

"Well it is a basement. That never gets cleaned might I add." Jinx rolled her eyes and stood up straight again.

"No. It smells like Hare filth."

Rabbit's heart skipped a beat. The brown eyed girl had a remarkable sense of smell.

'_Keep calm Rabbit, just get her out.'_

The white haired girl chuckled.

"It's probably coming from me, I tussled with some earlier." Rabbit didn't even glance at where she had hidden Hare as she walked through the basement door pushing past Jinx.

"I'm assuming every ones in the weapon room. It's not like they have other things to be doing, besides playing with knives." The white haired girl sighed, already far ahead of Jinx.

The dark haired girl bit her tongue pushing the metal ball of the bar in her tongue lightly against her front teeth.

Jinx could have asked why Rabbit's ears were unpinned, and what she was doing all alone on the basement ground. But she chose not to. Jinx never wasted words and she knew if she did ask then she wouldn't get a straight answer.

The young woman smirked and watched Rabbit trot down the hall.

'_Silly little bunny, hiding things means you're just giving me something to find._'


	8. Chapter 8

**Yuush I know this chapter is as long as shit but oh well, chapter 9 will be up soon! Btw Jinx is actually based on me..So yeah, just felt the need to tell you that! Thanks Andrew for that brilliant torture scene in the beginning. I know that its jumping and probably getting a bit confusing with all the different points of view, but please people bear with me! Enjoy and pleaaaaaaase review! :) *Farts***

**Chapter 8**

The thought of why Cheshire enjoyed torturing someone always crossed his mind during the process of making someone suffer… is was usually ever more present when doing it on someone so innocent and sweet as Alice. But that changed nothing… the pleasure in which Cheshire took in breaking down these walls of pain and suffering were twisted, wrong, in-humane… but necessary. After having used the wooden chips beneath her rather flawlessly coloured finger nails, Cheshire believed it was time for even more drastic measures of torture. As Cheshire watched the young woman in the chair, her face stricken with pain and once rather appealing in appearance if one would enjoy her features, was know covered in tracks of tears long gone, along with fresh droplets of salty suffering. His mouth, ever twisted in that sly, terrifying grin to most, but seductive to many, was plastered permanently as he looked at the young lady shivering on the cold, metal chair, as she had been there for many hours of now. Cheshire had tallied up to 32 hours at this point and the worst had not been received in terms of pain and suffering. He had noticed she had been hallucinating, thanks to the drugs provided by that ever annoying Rabbit. But, Cheshire admitted, when it came to drugs, poisons and every concoction under the sun of Wonderland, if you could call it that, the Whites were by far superior in delivering the best of all little pieces.

Slowly, Cheshire pushed his lean, toned body from the wall of the small room and walked forward to Alice, whom was delirious from the pain and trace amount of drugs still circulating, he drew a blade from his back, a twisted sight to behold. A silver forged blade, the design of a wyvern trailing down the blade and along the handle, courtesy of the Bloody Twins, one they had made especially just for Cheshire's desire of torture. At first, the blade would seem just your run of the mill knife, albeit it's silver complexion… yet, if one were to inspect closer to the blade's edge, one would see a white line, running down through the blade. It had been forged in brine, thus make the blade not only stronger if combat arouse, which would be unlikely since this blade was for nothing but torture, but the slight little gift the blade now had obtained… was salt. To many, this would be just a simple joke, one to make your enemy laugh before you gut them… yet for the purpose of slow, elongated cuts of the flesh, this would be a pain worse then being thrown in a fire or lime… at least you would die then.

Cheshire leant close to Alice, watching the terror in her eyes from this period of pure, agonising pain, and his heart flew with joy. It was a dark side of him, something that always made him flutter with glee, the suffering and pain of others. He brought the blade close to her neck, yet decided against slitting her throat wide open… this was torture, not homicide. The blade rested against her chest bone, its razor like sharpness already slitting the skin open with minimal pressure, the following screech of agony being music to Cheshire's cat ears, his grin ever increasing, almost to the point in which it would split his lips wide open. The faintest sizzle of the salt meeting bare flesh simply hinted further to the severity of this blade's potent content of pain, when the salt is so intense that it begins to burn the flesh with chemicals… torture, at it's finest. As Cheshire drew the blade slowly down her chest, the stem of blood that would follow was cut off by the chemical burns that followed, searing the skin close, Alice's body shook with violent movements, simply adding to the pressure in which the blade sank into her skin, further drawing out the shrill screams of pure, utter agony. Cheshire gave a soft sigh of satisfaction, enjoying this to its utmost potential… yet something was nagging at the back of his twisted little head. Many a time he had tortured someone… yet something felt off, despite the obvious enjoyment he was having and the little electric buzz of glee in the air… something was yelling at him it was wrong.

Cheshire growled in anger and grabbed the blade tighter, backing away from the sobbing Alice and threw the blade against the wall, holding his head with his bloodied hands, growling and grunting. Why, why did he stop, what was stopping him, just continue with the torture damn it! Yet something ran through the back of his mind, screaming, growling, bellowing at him to stop, yet he couldn't, not now, he needed to do this, but something, just that little something was telling him stop. He shook his head vigorously, his eyes darting back to the shivering boy of Alice. That was the reason… that damn confession from her, a time back, trying to think love would over-come his beast like side, yet it was just naïve teen feelings. That was what was annoying him, that was what was eating at him… Furious, he walked up to her, bringing his hand to her face, gently stroking her cheek for but a second before pulling back, his hand following through and back handing her strongly, a grunt resonating from his throat as he did so. Feelings… they meant nothing.

Cheshire turned his back on the sobbing young girl. He grinned even more so, the torture moving along rather well, as his mind beat out the thoughts of stopping. He reached into his bag of goodies, slowly pulling out a type of hammer, yet another gift given to him by the bloody twins. It looked like a normal ball head hammer, yeah something was obviously different… the difference being the blatant hole that sat dead centre in the middle of the hammer's face. Those Bloody Twins, something about their genius was rather scary, as they made anything… and when they mean everything, the mean it. Cheshire walked forward to the semi-conscious Alice, spinning the hammer between his fingers, with barely any effort it seemed, despite the weight. He brought the hammer back in his grip, pulling his arm back and preparing to strike Alice on the arm, knowing she would see the hammer pull back and hit her. He quickly brought it down, yet a mere centimetre or so away from her arm, he stopped, receiving a yelp and sob from Alice, only for a screw like blade to shoot from the hammer's face, stabbing instantly into her arm, a jolt of her slender body and a scream later, Cheshire began to twist the screw like blade into her skin, digging directly into the radius of her arm, the preliminary bone within ones arm. However, Cheshire took care not to entirely break or snap the bone, ensuring it splintered, nothing more or less. Each twist, each and every fragment of bone that splintered away from the source, brought a shrill, constant and ever lasting scream that would make any person grimace… apart from Cheshire, who couldn't help but give a giggle… yes, a giggle. Yet the heat in the room from Alice's screaming was torture within itself, Cheshire sighing heavily and pulling the hammer from her arm, a relieved, yet pain-filled scream came from Alice. Cheshire put the hammer on the table, his hands reaching up to his waist coat and pulling it off, a relieved sigh escaping his tender lips as his masculine body was revealed, each muscle glistened and covered in sweat from his vigorous torture session. He flexed them slightly, each muscle rippling as he did so, a sigh leaving his lips yet again, as he adjusted his hair that had fallen over his face, his drop-dead gorgeous looks showing through, matted in sweat, yet still flawless. "Oh I'm not finished…" He proclaimed to Alice, knowing she wouldn't hear him, yet he looked into his bag of goodies, knowing full well that many tools had not been used… yet.

Cheshire didn't hold back and it wasn't long before Alice broke. She begged, pleaded, cried. But the torture didn't stop. Half the time Alice didn't even know what was happening, she would pass out most of the time. All she felt was the pain.

Alice lost count of all the different ways that she was tortured, although Cheshire did have his boundaries. He stuck with the Wonderland drugs which weren't as bad as she thought they would be, they made her see things that weren't there, and made her feel emotions that she wasn't really feeling but that was all. Cheshire would slowly make thin cuts all over her body and at one point he even started carving off flesh. But not enough to kill her. He choked her, drowned her, beat her. But there was nothing more he could accomplish.

'_It hurts, it hurts so much. Why won't he stop? There's nothing I can tell him, nothing I can do to make him stop. Pain, it's not even real. It's constant, it's always there,so can it even be called pain? I hate him, I hate him. _

_No I don't, but why's he doing this? Why's he looking at me with those sad eyes? They're not sad for me. They're always sad, he's always sad and I'm always in PAIN. _

_I wonder what it's like to be outside. I wonder if I'll ever go outside again. I wonder if I'll ever get out of this room. I wonder if they'll be a day when he's not covered in my blood. I doubt it._

_I'm not sure if I want to leave. If I get out will I be the same? How can I ever look at him the same,the way I did before? How will I live everyday with these memories of torture, of watching my skin being torn off, or seeing monsters that aren't real, or screaming my throat raw while Cheshire cuts me, or looking at him with tears in my eyes as he chokes me? But I know I'll forgive him. I'm so stupid, so alone, so scared, so naïve, so hopeless. I don't want to forgive him but I know I will. I'll forgive him even as I loathe myself. It'd be easier to just die here. I hope I die here. Sooner rather than later. Would he care if I died?_

_Would he let me die?I don't care. He's coming towards me with that barbed wire. He's going to cut me with it, he's going to tie me up with it. Please let me die. _

_Let me die die die die die die die die die die die die die die_

Alice had nothing left, not a shred of self worth, dignity, pride, hope, resolve or spirit.

She was totally broken.

She had lost the ability to cry. Which she was thankful for because it was just dehydrating her further.

It had been days since her spirit had broken, but she could think of nothing to pull her out of the darkness..

Cheshire was sitting in the corner of the room, his back to the wall. He was releasing and retracting his claws.

Although Alice wasn't sure why he was sitting there, giving her a few minutes break before he began the next part of his torture routine .

The dark haired girl stared and stared, until she almost bore a hole through the side of the cats head.

Their relationship was sick. She loved him with all her heart, soul and being. He was all she knew. The only Wonderlander she had ever met besides Rabbit. He was all she had. He was cynical, sarcastic, cold, annoying. He was torturing her yet she still loved him. It might not be healthy love but it was love all the same.

It hit her like a ton of bricks.

He was her reason for living.

~CHESHIRE~

Ches could feel the air shift. It was no longer thick with hopelessness.

'_So she's finally found something to hold onto to.'_

He locked eyes with her, scanning through her thoughts.

Those eyes, they could pierce straight through you. Alice knew that Cheshire could see who you really were just by looking into your eyes. He wasn't sure how she knew but he guessed she had a fair idea, because for some reason she was able to hide how she felt about him.

The pierced cat wasn't sure if she loved or hated him as much as he disliked her.

But he could see from her face that she had found a reason to live. Cheshire had gone through the experience himself.

After days or weeks of torture your thoughts become a lot slower and you process things differently. Finding something to live for isn't a huge transition.

You don't begin to see the light and suddenly have the answer to all of life's questions and begin understanding the world. You just become stronger. Your spirit builds itself up back up. Cheshire had pulled himself out of the torture, his reason had been taking his fathers place as head of the Cheshire's, but his reason for living had changed a few times since then. First it was the power and responsibility and pride that came hand in hand with being a Cheshire. Then it was Akio, and it soon changed to that of revenge. But Ches is not foolish and he will not run blindly into battle. But now what was his purpose? He was all alone in the world. The last Cheshire.

The prince of cats released the girl of dreams from her bindings. It was time she found out the truth.

And meet a few old friends.

_'What interesting news. Who would have thought such a secret was being kept. This Alice sounded like a very intriguing girl.'_

Not much now day's peeked the Hatter's interest, but this girl was an exception. The creator of Wonderland was trapped in her own mind and Cheshire was keeping her all to himself?

_'That simply won't do.' _The Hatter should still be angry at Rabbit for not informing him sooner but he couldn't stay mad at a face like that.

He was going to have a fun time training her.

"Sir, Rabbit informed me we should be expecting company?"

"Yes Momo, a very important girl is coming to see us. I want you to cancel all our meetings and inform our customers that the targets deaths are going to be delayed. The Pleasure Houses however can keep running as normal." Momo's stormy grey eyes flashed and her dark grey mouse ears twitched slightly. She was clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be killing anyone . She turned quickly on her heel and walked out again.

"My dear, come back." The young mouse immediately strode back into the room. Hatter patted his desk gently smirking at Momo. The young girls long furry tail moved gently through the air as Hatter eyed her up and down. Her crop top left her toned and smooth stomach bare, and her shorts were tiny, leaving her long slim legs visible to the world. Her heels clacked noisily on the floor, but the unstable man knew that Momo could be as quiet as well..a mouse.

She walked over to his desk her hips swaying slightly and nimbly climbed atop him desk curling up and falling asleep immediately. The way she was positioned allowed Hatter a clear view of her cleavage and the man was happy that Momo was not only his faithful mouse but also willing to have fun with no strings attached.

Hatter also knew that if he hadn't called her back she would have surely killed one of the staff in a fit of anger at not being able to carry out her mission, they content with her murdering she would have curled up in a corner and napped the day away.

So it was just easier for him to let the girl sleep in her normal resting place. After all that was the only reason he had a desk in his office. In reality he didn't need an office at all. It was more of a room to get away from the busyness of the Hatter house.

No paperwork, no paper trail, no trouble. Hatter kept everything in his brain. Anything he couldn't remember wasn't worth remembering.

The madman could wait to meet the twisted girl who had created a world like Wonderland. The man had a feeling that his powers wouldn't work on her.

_'What a fun game to play.'_

Seducing the creator of Wonderland.

Dee and Dum locked eyes over their mistresses heads. Their relationship was strange, they were to narcissistic to care about anyone but themselves and because they were twins and mirror images of each other both inside and out they only cared about each other . They were all they had in the world.

Too close for them to be just brothers. But not close enough to be considered lovers.

They never did cross that line.

They were too afraid to.

They loved themselves the way they were and didn't want anything to change.

Kagura and Kiume shifted in their arms. Rabbit had just left the dimly lit room, she had brought with her news of Alice, and the promise of war. Dee and Dum bean to chant under their breaths in sync, the girls lifted their heads and growled low in their throats, their dog ears twitching. But they said nothing as they slashed their claws over their dainty wrists. Blood slowly started to trickle out and they held their hands out in unison letting the blood trickle to the floor.

Their blood being spilt meant the chant could be completed. Seemingly coming out of the walls guardians appeared. The bloodied bandages covering their faces were old and brown. The worn tattered clothes hanging off their bodies barely covered them. They were far to thin and their skin was like yellow parchment stretched over their bones. Rotting teeth and bleeding gums were what resided in their mouths. Their bodies were grotesquely scarred and there was a terrible hissing nose escaping through their stitched lips.

There were about six of the guardians in the centre of the room. When one of them took a shuffling step towards the Bloody Twins the twin servants stood, becoming a barrier between the monster and their masters. They both snarled and called forth their weapons but stopped when their masters called for them to halt. The creature immediately stopped upon hearing the Bloody Twins voices. Dee and Dum pulled mistresses onto their laps. Dee's electric blue eyes became half lidded as he brought Kagura's pale wrist to his lips and ran his tongue over the still bleeding wound. Her solid onyx eyes closed fully, she was in total bliss at the contact.

Kagura and her sister were very peculiar twins indeed. Almost as much so as Dee and Dum. No one knew their origins, and some said that they always just simply "were". But of course that isn't true everything has a beginning no matter how insignificant or small.

Kagura and Kiume Inu came from a long line of protectors of the Tweedles. Their father had been the great dog demon of the south. The Inu's had had a long standing feud with the Cheshires. Thousands of years ago the Tweedles had agreed to make weapons for the Inu's and to help them in battle. In return the Inu's would protect the leaders of the Tweedles.

He Inu twins had been with the Tweedle Twins since birth. They would give their lives for them. Kagura and Kiume valued their masters above all else in the world.

If need be then Kiume would sacrifice Kagura and vice versa.

Kagura belonged to Dee. She was with him all day everyday. Her dark eyes cold and calculating.

Her eyes were so dark that you couldn't tell iris from pupil.

Her black inky hair was cut into a severe bob and her bangs covered her left eye fully. Her one visible eye was always ringed with heavy black eyeliner. Peeking out from her hair were two dog ears which were just as dark as her eyes and hair.

For clothing she wore white bindings covering her chest which showed off all of her stomach. Her navel was pierced and she had raised scars covering her torso, arms, back and legs.

On her bottom she wore a simple white leather skirt both her and her sister were barefoot, their perfect dainty feet showed off to the world.

Kiume on the other hand was pure white . Her own eyes were so void of all colour that they almost looked dead. Her snow white hair was pulled back into two perfect pig tails. Her bangs were free though and covered her right eye fully.

Kiume had an equal number of scars covering her own body. Some in the exact same places as her sister, the only places that seemed untouched by the scars were their faces.

Kiume was wearing what could only be described as a dress since it just about covered her, but the term slip would be more appropriate.

The magic that the Bloody Twins preformed required blood. Blood. Some spells more than others. But that was the rule. To gain something, another thing must be first given up. The Inu twins had long since decided that they would do everything to help their masters. Better their blood be spilt rather than the Tweedles. And because the sacrifice of someone else beside the Tweedles was being made willingly it made the spell that much more potent.

Dee and Dum might be able to heal small wounds with a kiss or a lick but wounds still scarred. The girls didn't mind though, the scars were just reminders of how much they truly cared for the Tweedles.

If you so happened to move the girls bangs out of their eye then you would see they also gave up the sight in one of their eyes to their Masters. Sometimes the payment payment had to be more than blood. A memory, a finger, a life, or perhaps one of your senses. In this case it had been the sight in one eye each.

So you can see why the Tweedles calling for the Guardian's who were almost impossible to control put them on edge.

The girls snuggled back into their positions keeping a watchful eye on the guardians.

"We bind you with blood to answer to us." Dee snarled, tracing patterns onto Kagura's legs.

"Find Alice, who resides at Cheshire Manor. Fight her and see if she is worthy to be trained by Hatter and seen by us. Whether you come back or not will be answer enough." Dum glared at the guardians as they disappeared into the cave like walls.

Once the guardians were gone and the room was no longer full of tension the girls fell asleep.

Dee cracked a smile looking into his brothers dull copper eyes.

"Their favourite things to do: Kill, sleep and make love." Almost as an afterthought he added "Not in that particular order."

Dum would have smiled had he been listening but his mind was far away.

"Little Alice, lost in a world so big, show us that you're worth saving, worth following, worth dying for."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
_"Basically they're screwed, for screwing each other."_

Devin stared at the young girl girl in front of him. She had been here much longer than him. She never spoke a word. Her eyes were open but she never truly saw anything.  
What ever she had seen had made her like this. She was on auto-pilot. Alive but just barely. Functioning but not really living. She could walk, move, feed herself, but her mind wasn't really there.  
Since that first day he had seen her he wondered if her mind was lost or just...trapped.  
He had been locked up in here for six months now and visited the girl called Alice everyday. Sometimes he sat with her for hours. But the dead expression on her face never changed.  
He had tried to kill himself but failed, and so they locked him in here. Devin wasn't crazy, he was far from it.  
He had never particularly liked or cared for other people but Alice was different .  
He liked the fact that finally someone was more lost than him. It was almost lights out and Devin was taking his leave of the comatose teenage girl. She was tucked into bed and staring up at the ceiling blankly just as she usually did. Devin had seen a lot of beautiful girls, had been with a lot of beautiful girls. But he had never seen anyone quite like Alice. Her eyes were too green to even be human. Her hair reached her lower back. Although she never spoke or smiled, never had anything but a blank expression on their face, Devin knew that when she did come back to the real world her face would turn up at the corners and transform her whole face. Devin wasn't sure exactly why he was so drawn to her.  
The young man had never wanted anything from anyone. He had got through life on his own, never asking for help. It was a lonely way of living it it was the way things had always been. He always had control, the way Devin saw it was that he might not be able to control the way his life started but it would sure as hell end on his terms. But again the people of this world he so much hated interfered again and stopped him from doing what he wanted.  
For the first time in his lonely miserable life Devin decided to lean on, care for, and depend on someone.  
That someone just happened to be to be a near comatose girl who never spoke or gave anyone any sign that she heard them or was even apart of reality oh and she happened to be locked in the same asylum as him.  
But Devin could see the strength hidden in Alice's eyes and he knew that something in her mind would click and she would wake up one day. And when she did Devin would be by her side, he would show her how much he cared, how it didn't have to hurt any more.  
She would learn to love him and they'd get out of her together.  
" I hope you're decent, shit brains." Ches called out walking into Alice's room not bothering to give her time to answer. He had a towel over his broad shoulders and was using another one to dry his hair. He was shirtless and Alice couldn't help but stare at the hard ridges of his pale chest. His navel was pierced and there were numerous scars covering his back and torso. But Alice still thought he was perfect.  
She was currently sitting on the side of her bed trying to lace up her boots. She was dressed in her everyday of a tutu like lace black skirt, her knee high lace stockings, her ankle boots that had a slight heel and her ribboned corset.  
Somehow she managed to lace the corset. With a lot of difficulty. But bending over to lace her boots was proving difficult. Alice was still broken up from her torturing her shattered arm especially.  
Suddenly her own fumbling fingers were swatted away from the laces and Cheshire's own graceful ring clad hands were tying the strings.  
Alice stared at the top of his head and before she could stop herself she said what she had been locked inside her since Cheshire had informed her that her torturous ordeal was over.  
"I'm not mad." Cheshire lifted his head slowly and raised an eyebrow at the raven haired girl.  
"I never asked you if you were."  
"Well no, you didn't. But-"  
"But nothing. What I did was for your own benefit. So stop acting like a baby. I had to go through it, my father had to, all the Cheshire heirs did. Only we weren't in the White's good graces so we had to wait months for our bodies to heal, and our minds never recovered. You've been given drugs to make you distance yourself from the torture. And you'll be fine again by tomorrow.." The cat boy stood and snapped his fingers summoning Hikari to the room. He totally ignored Alice's shocked face and stomped out of the room leaving Hikari to buzz around the young woman wildly, fussing and zooming around Alice's bandages.  
Cheshire was right though, the pain both physical and mental of being tortured was slowly fading. There were some parts, some techniques that Alice remembered well, like old friends. She could almost still feel that blade cutting into her skin, and the salt seeping in simultaneously burning a hole deep inside the already agonising wound.  
Most of the wounds had healed thanks to Rabbit's potions but some were to deep or complicated for even her potions. Although her skill did help, healing the wounds as well as they could. They probably would have hurt more but Alice was to preoccupied with thoughts of what she would learn today.  
From out in the hall Ches yelled back into the room.  
"Rabbit will be up to see you in a minute, and she brought along a friend."  
The Cheshire's footsteps disappeared down the hall. Alice was both excited and scared. She knew today was the day. All her questions would be answered, the truth about Wonderland would be revealed.  
But a minute turned to ten and ten turned to an hour. Alice had become bored and had begun to sketch at her desk. There wasn't much Alice liked to do, frankly besides training she had no other real hobbies, with the exception of drawing.  
She loved the sound of her pencil scratching against paper and watching the sweeps and strokes turn into sometimes beautiful images. Although she was limited to drawing the manor, the surrounding forest and furniture in the manor.  
The dark haired girl wasn't going to lie, she wasn't the best at drawing and sometimes her art came out looking like a pile of steaming shit. But at least she tried.  
It seemed as though without really realizing it a face had begun to come alive on her page. A strong jaw, high cheekbones, familiar piercings, a seductively fanged grin, furry cat ears, and hair that swept across his face.  
But he had no eyes. Alice hadn't attempted to draw them. There was no way you could capture eyes that sad and old and confine them to a page. A drawing was like photograph in a way. You're capturing an image and saying this is human and mortal enough to be captured in the moment. But Cheshire's eyes held the years that his face did not.  
They told a story of a young man that had seen and been apart of so much that one could never hope to hear the full story of his life for it would take eternity to tell. Alice had totally zoned out looking at the page and jumped in fright when the door finally swung open.  
In strolled Rabbit and a tall man following a step behind her. He had large brown eyes that were warm and playful. His golden hair was like warm honey and the wavy locks swished slightly when he walked. He was hearing only a black wife beater that showed off his muscled arms which were heavily tattooed and red pants that were baggy on top and tight around the ankles. On the sides of the pants there were the black silhouettes of guns pointing down towards the ground. Like Cheshire he wore combat boots. He also wore and easy grin that suited him well. This was the first Wonderlander that the dark haired girl had laid eyes on beside Cheshire and Rabbit.  
Alice was surprised at how beautiful and kind he looked.  
Are all Wonderlander's this gorgeous?  
His hands were locked behind his head and he yawned. The young girl could tell that they were together. Although they had only just walked in the room, their body language told it all. Alice might have not been around many people but she was an expert in body language. She had to be, years spent with only Cheshire meant she had to study his every movement to be able to function herself.  
The man with the tattoos searched the room quickly with his eyes, looking for a threat as he stood next to Rabbit, his body angled towards her. But he was also shielding her from the door as if an attacker might come in at any moment.  
Rabbit was scanning Alice's face thoroughly checking what her reaction would be to the man who had just walked in. But Alice only smiled. Rabbit smiled back.  
"You're late Rabbit..." Once Alice spoke though Rabbit's smile vanished, replaced by a look of annoyance.  
Out of nowhere a pocket watch appeared in Rabbit's hand, but before Alice could get a proper look at it she snapped it shut and it was gone again.  
"I'm not late, I said I'd be here at ten. It is now 11:10. I never stated it would be the hour of ten." She spoke angrily but her face immediately relaxed when she felt the man's arms loop around her waist.  
And for the first time Alice noticed his large brown Rabbit ears. Alice gasped.  
"Your ears." She whispered to herself. She had seen Cheshire's ears everyday of course. But Alice was unused to this. His ear's were huge.  
He chuckled and his eyes crinkled at the corners.  
"Yes, Hares are quite proud of their ears. Rabbit's, it seems, not so much." He looked at Rabbit and smiled. Alice raised an eyebrow at Rabbit who sighed and reached up to her head. She undid some bindings in her hair and large white Rabbit ear's sprang forth.  
They suited the young woman well but you could tell by her face she was uncomfortable. After a minute of staring the dark haired girl finally spoke.  
"So you're both Rabbit's?" But the man was no longer next to Rabbit, he was next to Alice pressed the cool barrel of a sawed off shotgun to her temple.  
But strangely enough the young girl didn't flinch. She knew that the young man was going to move even before he did.  
"I'm March Hare. Leader to the Hare family, dealers of firearms, and clock collectors." He spoke coldly, no feeling in his voice.  
"March." Rabbit growled a warning, and the gun was immediately gone. Alice craned her neck to look up at March. That easy grin was back and his hands were shoved into his pockets.  
"Sorry, I just don't take kindly to being mistaken for a rabbit."  
His words were kind but in a second Cheshire was in the room and was lounging on the bed. There was a malicious grin on his face and Alice could see the anger boiling up inside, although she wasn't sure what the point of him showing up now was when she was well out of danger.  
"And I don't take kindly to you pointing that gun at my charge, no matter how ignorant she proves to be."  
Before March could utter a retort Alice stood. A cheerful expression on her face. She was a little uncomfortable with having all these people in her room. Her own little piece of space, but she needed answers and fast.  
"How about we just skip the pleasant small talk and get to why you're here."  
The dark haired girl raised and eyebrow but no one objected. So Cheshire stayed on the bed, Rabbit sat where Alice had previously been sitting at her desk , March was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room his long legs stretched out in front of him.  
Alice sat at Rabbit's feet, like a young child listening to a story. But in reality that's what she was, a young girl listening to the story of how everything came to be.  
So little Alice had explained to her, the origins of Wonderland, the histories of Wonderland and her great families, why she was here and her role.  
Because everyone in Wonderland had a role. Even if they didn't want to admit it.  
"You know nothing of Wonderland, so we'll have to explain it all to you." Rabbit said gently.  
"It started with a thought, or for want of a better word, a dream. Your dream Alice. You don't remember now because I had to block your memories, but you created Wonderland, you created us." She hesitated for a moment trying to find the right words to say.  
"And now your trapped inside with the creatures from your own imagination. It was a flittering little thought but a thought that wouldn't die. Being only a small child at the time you forgot the world you had created. Your "Wonderland".  
But it stayed in the back of your mind refusing to be totally forgotten and without your innocent mind to nurture it it grew into a twisted gnarled evil thing.  
Even now though some of your childishness and ignorance is imprinted in this world. For example our lack of caring about death. A child does not truly understand death therefore it does not effect them..." Alice had gone totally pale, not believing what she was saying, this was ridiculous, this was too much.  
The dark haired girl held up her hand, halting Rabbit.  
"I'm sorry but this is making no sense, if that's the case why can't everyone make up their own worlds?" Alice didn't say the rest of that train of thought aloud..  
This is too real to be a dream. How can I have made all of you up? How can it be this is all a dream? How sick do I have to be to dream up a world like this?  
Rabbit rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should let me finish smart-ass." She cleared her throat and her voice took on it's previous story telling lilting quality.  
" You could not control anything in your own world, so you saw fit to make a new one. The little girl created wonderful, magical places, with strange tree's and fruits, grass and sky that was coloured differently to that of her own world. This world did not play by the rules of the real world it was random and strange and impossible to understand. But for those exact reasons that world made perfect sense to the girl.  
But although the young girl had created the world to get away, she still had the wandering mind of a child and soon lost interest and forgot about her world full of wonder, the world she had named Wonderland. Pushed to the back of her mind it grew evil but still it was just a thought and could hurt no one, except for the people the young girl had imagined into it.  
Without realizing her mistake she told her parents about this world. They were scientist who cared more about their work then their children. They took on the darker part of science. The projects no one else wanted apart of.  
But a new idea had sprung into their heads. What if somehow they could bring dreams to reality? For a high price of course.  
People could live out totally different lives while sleeping, but the government wouldn't allow it. They knew the consequences. The drugs would be far too expensive. Only the insanely rich would be able to afford it. Riots would break out, regular people raging at being made second class citizens.  
All the people that could afford it would soon become addicted. They wouldn't go to work, everything would fall apart. The death toll would rise. People unable to deal with the reality of waking up would soon end their own lives.  
So the government refused human trials. But her parents thought this was what would make them rich so they brought their work home.  
They realized they could test it on their children. Not the girls older sister though, she was old enough to know what was going on, but the girl was perfect. With an imagination as vivid as hers the drug was bound to work if not excel.  
You were only seven Alice." Rabbit stopped for a moment when she noticed how hard Alice was clenching her hands but carried on.  
"By the time they started you on the drugs Wonderland was already to far gone. As far as I know you came here while you slept. Where you went and who you met I'm not entirely sure. But the drugs made Wonderland real to you although you could not control it consciously everything in this world has some meaning or symbol pointing back to you.  
I do know that during your waking hours you began to see things, hallucinations. You became cold, detached from reality. All of this was side effects from the drugs. But still your parents did not stop. They ignored your screams, your unfocused eyes, your constant fear. All in the name of science.  
But people had found out about the drugs, and wanted them for themselves. So you and your family moved at least once every few months. At this stage you had been on the drugs for nearly five years. They were making you a shell of your former self. The person you had once been was almost completely gone. They didn't want anyone seeing what you had become so they home schooled you and you had almost no contact with the outside world.  
But your parents couldn't run forever, and finally they were found. They refused to tell anyone where the drugs were or how they were made so they were slaughtered along with your sister. But they realized that you were the only one left who know anything about the drug. You were the key. So, they left you alive, to watch you from afar.  
After witnessing what you did though, you were only a moment away from totally losing your mind, so I thought it best to save that last little piece of your mind and humanity the only way I knew how.  
It took a lot but I was able to force you to hallucinate me. And when you did I got you to make the decision to recede into your subconscious.  
You could almost think of it as taking the soul and putting a protective wall around it. Even if you take the soul the body is still left. Which means your physical being is left in the real world able to preform basic motor functions, but your mind if here with us.  
You're stuck, even though you don't have access to the drugs anymore they left a lasting effect, since your body became accustomed if not addicted to them."  
Hot tears were running down the dark haired girls face now. This was ludicrous, none of it made any sense..yet..it did. Rabbit's words resonated throughout her soul.  
But how could she not remember all this? How could she not remember her sister, her parents, the terrible hallucinations? How could she have imagined an entire world and it's inhabitants?  
"So you're saying this is all in my head? You Cheshire, Hikari, Hare? This whole world?" Alice might not have seen much of this world, but she knew that it felt real, it didn't seem like a dream, besides, she slept and dreamed on a regular basis, how can you have a dream within a dream?  
"Well yes, but we think, act and move on our own. Just as a mother gives birth to a child she cannot control what they do or who they are. We are our own people."  
Alice bit her lip and wiped away her tears, there was no point in getting upset, it wouldn't change anything, it wouldn't bring back her memories if she had any at all. But Rabbit had no reason to lie.  
"Why have you been getting Cheshire to train me all these years? Why have you kept me locked away? Why did I live with him and not you?"  
"This world is beyond dangerous Alice. It's inhabitants are maddened bastards, and even us- their leaders are no better. There's a certain hierarchy of Wonderland.  
There used to be Four Suit families; Spades, Diamonds, Clubs and Hearts. They did nothing but constantly fight over the throne, one year it would be Diamonds on the throne, the next Clubs. It was ridiculous. Until Queen Vevina came along. She massacred all the Suit families, her own Heart family included. She's been on the throne for as long as I can remember now. She's an absolute monarch.  
Except here in Wonderland, no one can disobey the Queen, when around her your free will is stripped away. If she says jump you jump. If she says gouge out your eyes you have no choice but to do it.  
She's cruel and evil and everything the people here want and need. Under her are the Six Great Families; The Whites, Hares, Cheshires, Tweedles, Hatters, and Caterpillars. They-"  
"That's not in order of power or strength by the way!" March cut her off mid sentence and received a death glare as payment, he held his tongue and sunk into his chair.  
Alice's earlier emotions of anxiety and loss were soon forgotten. Her interest was piqued and suddenly everything was becoming very interesting.  
"If you were to go in an order of power then the Caterpillars would be first. Their like the gods of Wonderland. We can't even fathom their power, they should have the throne, maybe with them leading us we would have a little bit of order. But they want nothing to do with war or politics." Rabbit's eyes narrowed and she examined Alice closely.  
"And strange enough they bare a strong resemblance to you, Akio more so tha-"  
Cheshire was now the one to cut her off.  
"Stop veering off topic." Rabbit grumbled but continued on anyway.  
"There is only a handful of Caterpillar's and not much is known about them, only a few have ever gotten close to them. The rest of the families you can't put in order of strength since it's impossible to know."  
"Yes, but what are they there for? Who are they?"  
" I might as well start off with my own Family. Now when I say Family, I don't mean that everyone is related, I mean we work as a Family, you can call us a Clan, Family, Gang. Whatever you want.  
I am head of the White family. We specialize in Narcotics and Potions. We are also the Clock Keepers and I am the Keeper of Time."  
Alice raised and eyebrow. "Narcotics?"  
Rabbit laughed, " Yes, we keep the Wonderlander's happy and drug induced and it keeps money in our pockets. I also brewed up the drugs that Cheshire used on you, and to be honest I went easy on you."  
Alice grimaced, great even in her own mind people were hooked on drugs, and this gorgeous young woman in front of her was part of it all. The dark haired girl didn't even want to ask about the 'Clock Keepers' and 'Keeper of Time' thing. She didn't want to be anymore confused then she already was.  
"This bum in the corner is head of the Hare Family. And as he already told you their specialty is Arms dealing. They are also the Clock Collectors, and their Family seems to like the White drugs quite a bit." A growl came from the corner but nothing more was said.  
"Our family's have been feuding, for so long no one even knows how it started. We're constantly killing each other. A relationship between someone of the Hare and White family is unheard of. Let alone between the two Heads."  
"Basically they're screwed, for screwing each other." Cheshire chimed in cheerfully. March had to hold in his laughter but Rabbit was not impressed. She had been trying to get across the seriousness of the situation at hand but knew that that wouldn't happen with those two idiots.  
" Next is the Hatter Family. They deal in information. You want to know anything you go to them. They run the pleasure houses, and no more can be made without them knowing. Their specialty is Crime. Their Family Head Alastair Hatter otherwise know as Mad Hatter is the best in Wonderland with a sword. He also has some hidden powers he acquired some time ago after eating Branch of Sin. A forbidden fruit that would most likely kill you rather then grant you the power your looking for."  
"Then there's the Tweedles, Dum and Dee, also known as the Bloody Twins. They manufacture all the Families weapons and also preform some shady Magic but they are liked by most in Wonderland.  
And there was once a Cheshire Family, but now there is only Cheshire Cat. The Head of the family is always named Cheshire more so of a title than a name, because to know a Cat's true name is to have power over it. So all the Cheshire's used to have code-names. But alas all the Cheshire's were murdered except for this Cat on the bed.  
Ches may have kept this from you but he is the best Assassin in Wonderland.  
Even I can't tell you much about the Caterpillar's though, I've only ever met one and he isn't the fri-"  
"What a lovely explanation of the Six Families, care to tell her what we need her to do?" Cheshire cut Rabbit off once again, but still she said nothing.  
"You're the only one who can stop her, you're the only one strong enough to fight her, and you're the only one who won't bend to her will. You created her therefore you're the only one whose an even match for her. Some people want her on the throne but personally I want her dead. She killed the Duchess who both Ches and I loved dearly."  
"Speak for yourself will you? Fuck me this is getting boring, are you almost done? Just give her her fucking memories back and she'll be able to comprehend this easier."  
Rabbit sat back and covered her face for a moment before speaking.  
"I really don't think that's the best course of action. Who knows what will happen to her? Besides I don't know if I even can, her memories were like baggage, they were too heavy so she left them behind."  
"Try." It was Alice who spoke now. All of this was too much to comprehend, but maybe if she had her memories she could cope better, besides she wanted to remember her other life no matter how painful it had been. Her memories were who she was and right now she didn't feel as if she was truly herself. She didn't feel as though she was "here" her personality wasn't her own because she was missing a huge chunk of her life.  
Rabbit raised an eyebrow at Alice but decided it best not to argue. Alice braced herself as Rabbit leaned forward as she had all those years ago and pressed her soft lips against the dark haired girls forehead.  
And just like all those years ago it felt as if Alice was falling. Except now she was falling past images. Or rather, memories.  
Her mother was smiling down at her warmly whispering that it would only hurt for a little while as she jabbed a needle in Alice's arm, injecting the poison that she knew was driving her daughter insane.  
Another image.  
Alice's sister was holding her down, screaming at her to calm down. Her beautiful face twisted in rage at her younger sister. Lorina, the perfect one. The flawless one. The cherished one. The one that wasn't crazy.  
Another image.  
The raven haired girls father was quizzing her about her Wonderland, scrawling notes onto a notepad. He noticed her silence after a few seconds and got up quickly only to shine a light in the young girls pupils and bark out questions at her.  
Another image.  
Boxes piled in front of the door, and Alice's parents running around wildly trying to make sure they had everything. A slightly larger hand was wrapped around the raven haired girls and she looked up at her older sister who was leading Alice out to the car.  
And then the memories bleed into one another. The lonely days dragged on, the hallucinations becoming a regular thing. Until finally the last day Alice's family was alive.  
Blood splattering, screams, bones splintering, the gleam of a knife, and the smell of decaying corpses, a small and delicate young girl but without a doubt it was Rabbit.  
And then Alice was back in her room in Cheshire Manor sprawled on her back on the floor and Rabbit was shaking her awake.  
Only she wasn't just Alice anymore. She was whole again. She was who she was supposed to be. She was angry at this world and her own, because they had destroyed each other.  
No, angry wasn't the word. Alice had a rage, burning like fire in her heart now, because she had been dealt an unfair hand. But she wasn't the girl she was before. She wasn't going to sit back.  
She'd repay this world and her own tenfold.  
My name is Alice Liddel and I'm going to burn down the world.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Somewhere in the Queen's castle, in the farthest, darkest, most secure corner there lies a young man chained to a mushroom. This young man could break the chains if he really wanted to but he sees no point in doing so. Usually he is constantly puffing away on a cigarette. Breathing in the smoke that makes his life bearable and suppresses his powers.

But somewhere in a world that isn't his own there is a mother reading a story to her child. In this world it would be ludicrous to see someone chained to a mushroom, in the farthest, darkest most secure corner of a Queen's castle, smoking a cigarette that contained a random assortment of ingredients to suppress ones supernatural abilities.

But because of these supernatural abilities the young man is able to witness these going ons which he usually ignores, because life becomes very bleak when you know everything that has, will, or is happening. Besides it's very hard to focus on one thing that is occurring when he is also witnessing a million other things going on in his head.

But this story that this woman is telling to her less than bright child is intriguing, and is eerily similar to his own story.

A god who loved mortals so much he went against all he knew and gave them the one thing that would save them. And for that he was punished and was chained up for all eternity. Only to be tortured everyday. The names and details didn't matter, when did they ever?

But the details were bitterly similar to to young man chained to the mushroom.

He chuckled and rattled his shackles,putting his cigarette to his lips again and breathing the smoke into his lungs were it seeped into his very being. The tip of the stick smouldered in the dark room. The only source of heat and light. He held the smoke in for as long as his body would allow it and then he released it from his mouth slowly.

He took another drag but this time released the pink tinged smoke right away, his mouth made a quick series of odd shapes while he was releasing the smoke. The smoke formed a series of moving images.

If there had been light in the room then one would have seen two bodies made of smoke, one smallish and slim and the other much taller and bulkier, the indistinguishable cat ears and tail set the taller of the two apart while there was no distinguishing features on the smaller smoke figure, all you could tell was that it was male.

But suddenly what appeared to be knife shaped object appeared in the smallers hands and was immediately stabbed into the chest of the taller, which dissolved. As did the slimmer smoke figure when it's job was done.

The young man chained to the mushroom grimaced when he felt the thoughts of a Card Soldier coming towards his little dungeon. And then the heavy oak door was flung open and light was thrown into the once dark and peaceful room.

Heavy breathing and a gruff voice, "Her Majesty wishes to have her advisor's company!"

The chained young man scoffed at this idiots comment, "You mean Her Majesty wishes to have her slaves company?"

The Card Soldier growled and stomped into the room.

"You always anger our Queen and she doesn't like hurting her toys so she instead takes her anger out on us! I've lost many a friend to your ever changing attitude to her Majesty!"

The young man raised an eyebrow and also a shackled hand. He didn't very much like having his peace disturbed, and this insignificant Card was doing it far to rudely for his liking.

He made a flicking motion as if he was discarding something off his clothes, the Card Soldiers mouth turned into a horrified O before he flew back out the opened door and a sickening crunch could be heard.

The young man's cigarette was now transferred from his hand to his mouth as he breathed in deeply and ripped free of his shackles. He strolled out of the room, the metal cuffs looking like bracelets encircling his wrists, he stepped over the bloodied body of the Card Soldier and spoke to his crumpled form.

"My attitude towards her never changes, I loathe her yet have to lie next to her each night and stand beside her each day." He shook his shaggy hair out of his eyes and made his way down a long flight of stairs that would eventually lead to the Queen of Hearts bedroom.

When he saw the door in the distance he flicked his cigarette over his shoulder and shoved his hands into the pockets of his low riding, slightly sagging jeans. He stopped outside the door for a moment.

He wasn't doing this for himself, he was doing it for the person he hated most in the world, and yet loved the most. This was his punishment for falling in love. This was his punishment for being foolish enough to trust.

Nights spent in a monsters bed, days spent by her side, helping her carry out all her wicked deeds. Constant voices in his head, from people in this world and the real world. Constant bombardment of images, memories.

All the pain, sorrow, regret, love loss, triumph, failure, happiness, anger, and laughter of two worlds thrust on him because of what he was born. And none of these emotions were his.

A God, they called him. What a joke. He was sick of being a God. He was sick of feeling everything yet nothing.

He was sick of saving everyone but himself.

And yet he still pushed open the door and saved everyone except himself.

No one heard the thief in the night. Because he didn't want them too, he had a very important job to do, and even he didn't feel like extra killing tonight.

Since Alice had gained her memories back he felt a major shift in her. She was stronger, more secure in herself, but yet, colder. She hadn't had her memories back long enough for him to really know how much she had changed but the few days she did have them back was enough. She did understand what Rabbit had told her better now but she still need more.

So Cheshire decided the best thing to do would be to gather all the info the Queen had on the Six Families. The only thing they knew about the Queen was that once she was dead Alice would be able to get back to the real world. She was the "chain" on Alice's subconscious that was keeping her tied to this place.

But Cheshire was currently slipping back out of the "impenetrable" fortress that the Queen of Hearts called home,documents in hand. She would be in a blind rage when she realized her precious documents had been stolen, but what the hell?

He had nothing left to lose anymore. She had seen to that.

He knew Alice would be waiting up for him, so he could show the documents to her right away.

He didn't have to climb over high walls or back-flip through windows.

Cheshire's the Tricksters of Pathways.

The purple haired male could only teleport if he knew exactly where it was he was going, but if he didn't it was no big deal, as long as there was a door nearby he could get where he needed to go, all he had to do was connect the two doors together. Restitch the space between the door so that it opened where he wanted to go.

Cheshire glided up the marble steps to the Manor, files in hand.

He hated this place. With it's huge windows and colourful surrounding gardens. He hated the way it looked so peaceful and calm. He hated the huge archways and winding staircases inside, and he hated the way the interior was never the same, to confuse trespassers.

He hated that the Manor's appearance gave no clues to the horrors that had happened here. The front door he was now pushing open was no longer splintered, the greeting room he was now walking through was no longer a mess, the huge staircase he was now climbing was no longer splattered with the blood of his people, of his _family._ These hallways no longer echoed with the screams of his loved ones. Although sometimes if he listened close enough he could still hear them. But that could just be his imagination.

This place was so big, so full of memories, and nightmares. And until Alice it was such a lonely place. But that was probably for the best, he couldn't hurt anyone if no one was around. But that changed when she came, that all changed that day she opened her eyes in the clearing and he was able to see what she would do. What she would change him into.

He was getting soft. He wasn't as cold as he used to be. Even though he tried to put up a brick wall around his heart she knocked it down with those eyes.

Ches had hated eyes for a very long time. They really were doorways into the soul. But now he loved them, or rather just Alice's. But of course he would never say that. He had a soft spot for her sure, there was no point in denying it. But he still had a strong dislike if not hate for her.

He wasn't exactly sure what room she was in so he called Hikari to him, he was far too tired to cast out his senses or to even restitch a door. The small ball of light was with him in seconds buzzing around him, happy that he was back.

For a long time it had been just him and Hikari. He trusted the little ball of light to protect his home and also to light his way at night. Plus the little ball of light kept close eye on Alice when Cheshire could not and for that he was grateful.

Although Hikari's company was the only one Ches actually enjoyed he knew little about the ball of light. After Ches's family had been killed and Ches had come back from the castle battered, broken, and raging, he found the little ball of light in the Manor he had once called home.

Hikari had obviously cleaned up all the blood and the the broken furniture, but Cheshire couldn't fathom how. The only conclusion he had come to was that Hikari could transform, but into what Ches still didn't know. He was weary of the creature at first, he had not reason for being in his house, but soon he became fond of the warm sphere.

"What kind of form is she in?" Ches spoke aloud, and his voice pierced the otherwise quiet air of the manor.

"_She's restless, she senses something is coming." _Hikari's voice seeped into Ches's mind, it was quiet,warm and surprisingly childlike. The purple haired cat was the only one Hikari actually spoke to. Even Alice thought he was incapable of speech.

"Yes, I fear we'll be having some unwanted visitors tomorrow before we depart."

"_I didn't want to say anything before, but since she got her memories back...she's changed..her soul is darker." _Hikari sounded worried for her.

"Remembering what she had been through, it would be wrong if it didn't change her. This is the Alice that should have been. This is the Alice that her world decided to fashion her into."

Hikari obviously didn't like this answer and said nothing as he lead Cheshire to the Manor's library. Once Cheshire stood outside the door to the library Hikari flew away content that his job was done.

Cheshire sighed and pushed open the door and a blast of hot air it him. There was a fire blazing in the overly massive and intricately designed fireplace which was located on the farthest wall. Books lined the walls and gave the room a cosy and comforting feel. The room was massive and the ceiling was high to accommodate the large amount of books.

But Alice looked right at home snuggled up on an arm chair to the right of the fire. Her legs were draped over the arm of the chair and she was playing with a dagger.

Her long inky ringlets were pulled into a ponytail and tied with a white ribbon. There was a small amount of milky skin on her thigh peeking out through the space between were her stripped stocking ended and her cupcake shaped skirt began, and Ches quickly averted his eyes. But then he caught sight of her black corset that cinched in her waist and almost made her breast spill out.

"_She's grown up so much since that day in the clearing."_

Her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of Ches, and the dagger she was playing with was thrown harshly at the ground where it stuck hilt up.

"You took long enough." Her tone was harsh and her eyes were blazing, she seemed to get angry at the smallest things now.

"It's not the easiest thing breaking into the Queen's castle." She scoffed at his answer.

"And yet you pretend you're invincible." Cheshire ignored her snottiness and covered the space between them, only to throw the thick files on her lap.

He turned to go but she grabbed his wrist just as she had that day on the roof, but this time it was her who pulled away, she jerked her hand away as if the contact burned her. He lingered in the room but kept his back to her.

"That night when you lost your sanity. Those tallys on the walls, what were they for?" Cheshire was glad his back was to her now.

"All the people I've killed, or rather, those worth remembering." He was grinning now, his signature grin. Malicious and yet enticing. Something to attract prey before he killed them.

"Everyone in Wonderland...are they all killers, is that what I'm destined for?" She sounded desperate, and yet still angry, still bitter at the whole world.

"Your insanity is our own. We love killing, fighting, death. It gives us a moment of relief from the burning. A long time ago, I stole some of the caterpillars powers. They're the only ones who don't need to kill, so I have longer periods of sanity, I can control myself, but once in a while it all overwhelms me and I turn into that thing.

That room was made to keep everyone else safe. Even I don't know what you're destined for. But meanwhile, you should brush up on the families. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that he was gone. Alice was left alone in the library. She wasn't a huge reader but this room was the most comfortable in Cheshire Manor in her opinion. She took a deep breathe and opened the files to read about the families she had created, the _people _she had created...:

By the decree of her majesty The Queen of Hearts and benevolent ruler of Wonderland, these documents are to not see the light of day or the darkness of night, for they are most sensitive in information regarding the great families and creeds of this twisted and beautiful land. If you are to be found with these sensitive documents, then by her majesty's rule, off with your head!

Document name: Hare family dossier; the following information and persons are to be associated and/or connected to the Hare family for ties such as associates, enemies, members, etc. The current leader of the Hare family is March Hare, the rather enthusiastic, energetic yet childish third child of the biological Hare family, one of the twelve original siblings. (Note: Many of the original children are named after the months in a year; however this information is redundant and has been expunged from the initial document.)

Despite having a childish and almost absent minded personality, March has been recorded showing extremely short yet deadly bursts of intelligence, showing a vast array of tactics and ruthless killing methods. Other then these initial details, March has been recorded to aimlessly wander the grounds of the Hare manor at given intervals along with disappearing from the ground entirely, agents of her Majesty, the Great Queen Of Hearts, have not been able to follow nor find where March disappears to, ending in their immediate beheading.

Despite March Hare being the essential patriarch, March is backed by a large family of goons and thugs, varying in skill and efficiency, yet not in loyalty. One of the most effective and deadly foot solider, is by far the Hare family member Alexander Hare, essentially the right and left hand to March Hare, being his un-official second in command. The official second being the unsociable and rather angry January Hare.

The polar opposite to March, Alexander has been observed to exhibit a personality of cynicism, sarcasm, and calculatingly trying to find the most effective way of killing someone. However, despite their differences mentality wise, Alexander is oddly similar in physical attributes to March Hare besides their colouring.

The Hare family's signature weapon is that of the firearm, yet this does not give them an upper-hand in combat, as they tend to have lower knowledge and skill referring to the maintenance and usage of firearms, the only personnel that effectively use the firearms are the twelve Hare siblings, March's second in command Alexander and a select few run of the mill foot soldiers, our scouts being able to confirm these reports.

The Hare family have also been recorded to collect the clocks (or hearts) of fallen enemies which are then delivered to their enemies the White Family for repairs.

The Hare family also have been recorded selling and buying masses of firearms essentially gearing up various thugs whom are fallen under their banner, yet this has backfired on several occasions, as many of the dealings are handled by the vast number of foot soldiers, yet scouts have commented saying there has been reported cases of Alexander Hare stepping in on deals. Scouts of the great army of the Queen of Hearts have no further intel on this matter.

Document name: White family dossier; the following information and persons are to be associated and/or connected to the White family for ties such as associates, enemies, members, etc. The current leader and matriarch of the White family is Rabbit White, the cold, calm, ruthless and calculating master mind behind the success of the White family.

Rabbit has been seen on several occasions by our loyal scouts to be a more then adequate fighter, easily hitting and killing ten targets at once, having been versed in the use of throwing weapons and the application of neurotoxins and other lethal concoctions.

Apart from Rabbit White, there is also one other person in higher command with almost a larger amount of tactical genius, our sources say she is the rightful Head but decided to step down, Jinx White, code named "Jinxie" from close acquaintances and also the given name by the scouts, is essentially the second in command of the White family, being a energetic, yet highly volatile in terms of emotions changing at a moments notice, Jinx has been recorded to have a battle prowess more advanced then Rabbit White, and has also been shown to have extreme tactical skills, having been able to kill various members of opposing families.

She has particular hatred towards the Hare family Reports have indicated that Jinx however met her match against one of the Hare's, the details being rather vague, thus leaving the floor open for suggestions on which member it was. However, that does not draw away from the fact that Jinx is special within the White family.

First of all, intel has shown that she indeed uses a melee weapon (The vines of the Forgive Me Not tree have been proven to be incredibly strong and deadly, the application of copious amounts of toxins making this even more life threatening.), while secondly, many of the scouts have question as to why this obvious person of power has not taken the position of leader of the White family, yet this has been deemed redundant by her Majesty, The Queen Of Hearts, therefore all naysayers will instantly be beheaded.

The White's primarily specialise in the production and distribution of narcotics, fuelling the sadistic going ons of many of the families. There is, also, another business in which the White's par take in, the repairing and restoring of clocks given to them by the Hare family, the two parties being forced to work together. Any further intel will be added under the consent of her Majesty the Queen Of Hearts.

Document name: Hatter family dossier; the following information and persons are to be associated and/or connected to the Hatter family for ties such as associates, enemies, members, etc. The current leader presiding over the Hatter family is the rather sociable and self naming Hatter. This rather coy and sly male has been referred to as the person the Queen of Hearts despises the most. Another alias in which Hatter has been able to acquire is his code name in which the department and scouts have dubbed him as "The Mad Hatter" for his ever constant changing personality, scouts and embedded agents finding that his eye colour changes to the appropriate personality in which he is currently exhibiting.

These personalities differ in emotions and general reactions, however, his over all approach is one of using the art form of sword fighting, easily dispatching rowdy customers along with enemies whom tend to cause annoyances for him and his business. The Hatter family deal in information and not a movement or crime is commited in Wonderland without their go ahead.

The Hatter family is currently the lead creator and owner of the many pleasure houses dotted across Wonderland, Hatter generally sampling new stock, young and old, new and used, all of whom are female, a special team testing out the males.

Our scouts have been able to confirm that the pleasure houses are most excellent and have by far the highest quality meat; however, by decree of her Majesty The Queen Of Hearts we are forbidden to further speak of these pleasure houses in anyway, shape or form, while all scouts or personnel whom attend them shall be immediately dealt with.

It is also know that hatter has aquired strange powers after searching for Branch of Sin for many years and finally consuming it. He is the only know person alive who was able to find and consume the forbidden fruit, therefore he is a formidable appointment.

Document name: Cheshire family dossier; the following information and persons are to be associated and/or connected to the Cheshire family for ties such as associates, enemies, members, etc. From general knowledge and intel provided from (Surviving.) scouts, it is not fair to refer to the Cheshire family as…well, a family. The entire Cheshire family, except for one, was murdered without a moment's hesitation by the Queen. She felt they threatened her power so she saw to their annihilation. The current head of the Cheshire "family" is Cheshire Cat.

It is known that all family Heads take that title, while Cats of lower positions used fake names or codenames when they were alive. To know a Cat's true name is to have power over it. Not much has been gathered apart from two crucial pieces of information regarding Cheshire himself. There have apparently been rumours that have been confirmed, but also not confirmed by the various scouts under our employment that Cheshire is to have known affiliations in terms of business with White Rabbit.

This has yet to be entirely confirmed, but is open for discussion amongst staff whom are entitled to these documents. The second crucial piece of information regards the combat capability of Cheshire. Many scouts whom have seen their brothers die under the glorious rule of our Majesty The Queen Of Hearts; have seen that Cheshire is essentially an assassin without a cause, being incredibly effective in his dispatching of enemies, easily besting some of the other heads, along with their lieutenants. However, further information regarding Cheshire has not been sourced or uncovered as he is both rather illusive and also hazardous to remaining forces.

Document name: Bloody Twins dossier; the following information and persons are to be associated and/or connected to The Bloody Twins for ties such as associates, enemies, members, etc. Tweedle Dum and Dee, codenamed "The Bloody Twins" by many of our associates and scouts, the Tweedle twins are in fact the chief manufacturer's of the soul weapons in which many of the high ranking officials and leaders of the families use.

They use the forbidden Blood Magic of Wonderland. Not much is know about their combat skills as they are protected by the Inu twins Kagura and Kiume. The Inu twin Lieutenants are vicious and trained well, ready to throw their lives away for their masters in a moments notice.

They are well liked by most of those in Wonderland and are on good terms with all of the six families. They also hold many social gatherings at their large castle like manor. It has been reported recently that many young beautiful women have been disappearing at these parties. But the Queen of Hearts refuses to look into these matters. Believing the Tweedle Twins able to deal with this matter themselves.

Other information however has been kept under lock and key by our magnificent Red Queen as she speaks of them being an important asset, thus we must not allow much information to be sent into these documents, for fear of the Twins being compromised.

By royal decree, these documents are to be kept within the royal palace at all times, while the file containing information on the Caterpillars is protected by her Majesty. And may not be seen by any but her. No scout nor any other staff member is allowed to take these documents without approval from our magnificent Queen Of Hearts, her almighty Majesty, for we are but her servants, thus we are un-worthy to obtain these documents, but out of her great gratitude and generosity, we are allowed to read these documents, let alone glimpse them! Praise be to the Queen Of Hearts!:

Alice stood suddenly and made her way to the fire, files in hand. She stood there for a moment. Processing everything. Her proof was in her hands. And finally she believed everything. Peace flowed through her. She was ready to fight. She was ready to die for this world that she had made. She would try to bring peace for this land, even if it drove her insane.

She threw the files into the flames, so that no one could ever read them again, and then she smirked to herself.

These Families, they sounded fun. Ches already told her she'd be meeting the Tweedles tomorrow, and they'd train her in Blood Magic. But she had a feeling they were going to send something to test her.

She fell to her knees in front of the fire, and covered the smile that felt like it was almost cracking her face. Yes Cheshire's story was sad and all but Alice found herself forgetting what she read about him. She found herself wondering where those young girls were wandering off to.

She found herself questioning if she'd have to sacrifice a life for her Blood Magic, and she found herself wishing she'd have to.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Alice followed her nose downstairs and into the kitchen. She wasn't fully awake but she was starving and whatever Ches was cooking smelled beyond delicious.

The dark haired pushed open the swinging door to the kitchen and was met with the sight of Cheshire in a frilly apron with his sleeves rolled up, frying something on the stove. His hair was pulled back out of his face and tied in a tiny ponytail at the base of his neck. It looked ridiculous yet cute and she immediately burst out laughing.

He looked up startled his lavender cat eyes slitted.

"Since when did you cook breakfast?" Alice asked with a yawn. She was wearing an oversized black T-shirt that reached her knees. It was one of the only normal articles of clothing that she could find in this huge Manor.

The dark haired girl couldn't fathom why she imagined corsets, hooped skirts, waistcoats, and stockings into this world instead of the normal clothes she was used to.

"It's not for you, I thought our guests might get hungry."

She caught a glimpse of Cheshire's slim ringed fingers gripping the handle of the frying pan and a flash of pain shot through her temples.

It was now no longer a frying pan but a knife, a knife that would no doubt leave salt in her wounds. It would burn her, sear her, until there was nothing left but pain and darkness. And she would scream but no sound would come out, because the dead can't speak, they can only wonder what it's like to feel something other that hurt.

Alice stumbled back, unable to support herself, she tripped and braced herself for the painful fall. But all she felt was a warm pressure on her back and recognized Hikari's heat. He was the only thing keeping her from hitting the ground and she was at a very dangerous and uncomfortable angle, hovering about the ground.

A soft sob escaped her lips and she rolled to the side, the heat of Hikari leaving her. She had been only about a foot above the ground and her body almost fully horizontal so she landed on her hands and knees her forehead pressed against the cool ground.

She barked out bitter laugh, _So this is what I'm reduced to, haunting memories of a family that never loved me, and flashbacks of my torture at the hands of the man I love._

Suddenly a warm hand encircled her wrist. Alice looked down at the hand but said nothing. Cheshire pulled her to her feet. He let go of her and pointed to the kitchen table in the corner of the room. A very plain and uninteresting old thing. And he himself went back to the stove.

The dark haired girl slumped into a chair resting her head on the cool wood of the table, suddenly very drained and tired.

"The flashbacks will be few and far between but you _will_ get them. We can't afford to have you tired right now though." He was about to pick up the spatula again but he spun and looked around the room, when he saw nothing he cocked his head to the side as if he was listening for something.

The raven haired girl took a look around the room herself. It was early in the morning and light radiated in from the huge window right in front of the stove. Through it you could see a clear view of Cheshire forest since they were on the ground floor of the Manor. The walls were covered the racks of pots and pans. Although Alice had no clue why. Cheshire never cooked so the young girl was left to cook for herself and she rarely did.

But sometimes there would be food waiting on this very table for her -most likely cooked by Hikari- and she would eat in silence, wondering what Cheshire survived on.

The kitchen looked very cheerful today, if Alice did say so herself. It was one of the only rooms in the house that could change appearance to whatever Ches wished. Alice was sure that the kitchen had been bigger once, much bigger, to accommodate all the hustle and bustle that no doubt happened in this Manor when it had been occupied by the once Great Cheshires.

But Ches's current expression was drawing the cold fingers of fear up Alice's spine.

He said one word. One word and then Alice's whole world exploded."Shit."

And with that the wall directly behind Alice was reduced to little more than rubble. She let out a little shriek at the sound from the shattering wall, and covered her head as she was hit with debris. The force of the rubble hitting her knocked her out of her chair and onto the ground.

She looked up from the ground dazed and disorientated, and standing over her was a grotesque monster. Its limbs were long and spidery, and its skin like yellow parchment. It seemed to have too many joints, and was a mocking a humans form. It's spine was all twisted out of shape. And covering it's face and head were bloody bandages covered in dirt and grime. The only part of its face that was visible was the mouth and that was crudely stitched shut. Its hands formed into vicious taloned claws.

There was a smell of death rolling off the creature in waves but the worst part was by far the hissing. It forced its way out past the stitched lips and grated right against your eardrum.

Dust from the smashed wall was swirling around the kitchen and making it hard to see as was the fact that Alice was probably concussed. But Alice could _sense_ that there was more of them, she could feel them milling around the room.

The thing above lashed out with its taloned hands, but Alice rolled and was on her feet in seconds, still a little dizzy but now ready for a fight. She hadn't even processed what was going on yet. There was no time. Alice was pissed and all she knew was that these _things_ had broken into the place she called her home, threatened her, Hikari and Cheshire...Oh god where was Ches!?

The creature turned its head towards where Alice was now crouching, and moved towards her in choppy ungraceful movements. When it finally came within the young girls range she lashed out her own leg, putting most of her weight on her hands so she could swing her body and knock the creatures bony legs out from under it. Before the monster had even hit the ground Alice was bringing her foot down in a vicious Ax kick that crunched the creatures face and slammed it into the ground with both the momentum from its own fall and the force from Alice's kick.

In Alice's eyes all this happened in slow motion but in reality it was a matter of seconds. The creatures skin and bones were thin. It might be strong if it got a hold of you, but it couldn't take a lot of force in a hit otherwise it's bones would shatter and crumble. Alice discovered this as the monsters head caved in on itself. But she didn't have time to celebrate since there was still more.

The room was finally starting to clear, and Alice could see that there was at least nine more of those creatures, and Cheshire was fighting with them too.

Another one ran towards her but she dispatched it with a jumping back kick that was so powerful it sent the monster flying into the opposite wall. But as Alice was trying to regain her balance another creature flung itself at her and managed to claw a deep gash into the side of her neck and the young girl hissed at both the pain and the scent of the monster filling her nostrils.

The thing made another grab for her but Alice dodged to the side and angled herself towards the creature delivering a swift front kick so that the creature fell back. Alice pressed her fingers to her wound trying to stem the flow of blood to no avail. She stumbled towards the stove now oblivious to Cheshire and his fight.

Finally she made it and grasped the frying pan tightly only to swing it a moment later at another monster who was within arms reach. The bottom of the pan was still hot from the stove and the creatures flesh sizzled grossly before it went down. Another one soon took its place but Alice had dropped the pan.

She jumped to the side at the last moment but grabbed the creatures arm and used its momentum to swing it into the stove, Alice jumped and grabbed the back of the monsters head, only to use her own weight to slam its face into the burning ring. It screeched and clawed at the air, but within a matter of seconds the screeching stopped. The thing was slumped over the stove and Alice could sense one more coming up behind her.

She placed her hands flat on the back of the creature she had just killed and pushed herself into the air kicking out backwards with both of her legs. They connected with the monsters chest and Alice could feel its sternum crack. She spun mid air and landed in a crouch her face pulled into a vicious snarl. She was ready from the next one, the adrenaline pumping through her veins making her feel as if she was invincible.

But no more creatures came since Cheshire had dispatched the rest. The young girl flicked her blood soaked hair from her face and looked at Cheshire who was pulling his claws from the last of the monsters. He kicked the beast out of the way and still managed to look deadly with his tattered and frilly apron. Some of his hair had came loose from its tie and was now framing his face.

He had a nasty looking gash in his right arm that was bleeding heavily. It started at his inner elbow and was slashed all the way down to his wrist.

"I guess they didn't want the food I made for them." He laughed a little dazedly and stumbled against the nearest wall. Alice's snarl was replaced by clear shock.

_He knew they were coming?_

No time for questions. Cheshire was clearly hurt badly. But Alice's adrenaline had totally left her ad now she noticed the searing pain from the wound in her neck, and the rest of he scrapes and bruises. She ripped some material off the bottom of her shirt and quickly wrapped it around her neck. Tying it so tightly that she almost choked herself. She ripped open one of the presses and rummaged around inside for one of the emergency medical-kits that Cheshire so conveniently kept in every room of the Manor "just in case".

When she finally found it she grabbed the bottle of alcohol and the gauze. Cheshire was watching her with half lidded eyes. She was so calm. Too calm. The kitchen was littered with debris and bodies, Alice had a deep wound herself and yet all she was worried about was Cheshire.

She knelt next to the drowsy young man and poured the entire bottle of alcohol on his wound. She swore she could almost hear the flesh sizzle, but Cheshire let out little more than a moan.

_Shit, he's starting to go numb._ Alice knew how it felt loosing this much blood, knew the draining, lightening effect it had on you.

"HIKARI!" Alice screamed out his name and he was there in less than a second. She whispered what she needed to the little ball of light so that Ches didn't hear and he zoomed away in search of it.

Alice gently placed the thick white gauze over the wound and put as much pressure on it as she could manage.

Ches was fine. He'd pull through. He _had_ to.

" You fought well today." His voice was like gravel.

"You knew they were coming didn't you?" Alice said.

"The Bloody Twins sent them. I knew they would, just to test you. And you did well. So they have no choice but to see you. Once this bleeding stops we'll be on our way." His eyes were now travelling up Alice's bare legs, and for the first time she realized how little clothing she was wearing.

"What were those _things?_" She tried to position herself so that he couldn't see her legs as well.

Cheshire scoffed when he noticed her awkward movements, "Don't flatter yourself." He said, glaring at her. "Those were guardian's, a long time ago there was a great Library. The books in it held an account of everything that had and was going to happen. It had knowledge of both worlds. It was the Guardian's job to protect it. But the Queen of Hearts didn't like the idea of the Library so she destroyed it."

"The destroying of the Library drove the Guardian's mad and they wandered Wonderland killing everything in their paths. Just like the average Joe really. But the Bloody Twins saw fit to make slaves of them. You may not believe it but those Guardian's are unbelievably strong. And you killed them like it was childs play."

_This Queen of Hearts is sounding like a bigger bitch everyday, along with these "Bloody Twins"._

Cheshire's voice had been getting harder and harder to hear as he talked. And now Alice was getting worried, she looked around desperately for Hikari and finally he flew back into the room. A red hot poker was seemingly floating under him. He flew next to Alice's head and dropped the handle into her hand.

Cheshire looked at the poker, then at Alice's face, and back down at the poker.

"Don't worry it's sterile, I made sure Hikari got one that's never been used."

" I hope you know that's only going to make it worse." Cheshire's voice was almost inaudible now.

"In regular cases yes, but we just need to stop the bleeding long enough for your healing to kick in." Alice gently pried the gauze soaked in his blood away from the wound. Making sure to keep the poker pointed away from him.

He grunted, "Make it quick, we have places to go."

"On the count of three then." Alice positioned the length of the poker over the wound and held it in her right hand. With her left she held down Cheshires arm. Hikari had heated all of the poker besides for the handle.

"One..TWO" She brought the poker down onto Cheshire's skin and it sizzled loudly. He immediately tensed and tried to rip his hand away, letting out a loud yelp of pain and a colourful string of curses.

" WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THREE!?" He yelled and slammed his head back against the wall, turning his head away from his now burnt flesh.

Alice shrugged and stood. There was nothing more she could do for him now. She would leave him and Hikari to clean up the kitchen while she cleaned herself up and packed. She'd also have to pull out that damned healing potion Rabbit had given her a while back, before she bled out herself. She could have just saved Cheshire with that but he refused to take anything made by that "she-devil".

"That was for denying you were checking me out." Alice gingerly stepped over the corpses of the Guardian's. They had very sad stories, but it wasn't as if Alice gave two shits.

"Yeah well fuck you, I'll be fine in ten minutes. I won't even have a scar to show for my troubles. So you're not getting rid of me yet you crazy bitch."

How quickly things had changed, first they were fighting for their lives, then Alice thought she was actually going to lose Ches. Ha, what a funny notion it was now. She couldn't kill that feline if she tried. And now? They were going back and forth with their usual banter. The battle and looming shadow of death forgotten.

_Why would I want to get rid of you idiot? I'd be lost without you._

Alice flipped him the middle finger as she walked out of the room.

Dee chuckled. "She got them."

Kagura sniffed at the scent that had been carried on the wind. "She is coming."

Kiume growled, "And she brings that disgusting cat with her." Kiume and Kagura were stretched out on the steps of The Tweedle Mansion, while Dee and Dum were drawing runes into the front yard. Some of the oldest symbols the world has ever know. Most of those who know about it are dead, and those who dared to try and read it are crazed.

But Dee and Dum understood it, they were powerful enough to use the symbols. And why were they carving them into their front yard you ask?

Because they were going to be doing some hardcore spells with this Alice girl. And sometimes when a novice did the wrong spell it could through the whole world out of balance if the persons magic was strong enough and if that had screwed the spell up enough.

So not only were these spells protecting everyone else from Alice's magic but it was also protecting her. Spells took memories, blood, energy. You name it and spells can take it. Beginners aren't used to this so by using these symbols you limit the power levels of the spells they can cast.

They were just finishing up now, which was good because Alice was almost here. The runes glowed bright before the old, powerful magic sent a tremor through the entire estate. The harsh, crude marks could burn your eyes if you looked at them too long.

And then they were gone. They had been soaked in by the ground.

Dee and Dum rolled down their sleeves and stood, walking towards the Manor steps perfectly in sync. Copper and blue eyes flashing

"Now now, there will be no brutalizing, maiming, and or fighting with The Cat." Dum the rational thinker of the two always wanted to make sure there was no confrontation. Kiume, his other half was also the quiet thinker of her own coupling. Kagura and Dee on the otherhand were quick to fight, they killed first and asked questions later.

"You want her to like you don't you?" Dee asked both of the girls.

"We do not care if she likes us, she is here to be trained. Besides anyone who can stand the company of that retched Cat can be no friend of ours." Kagura snarled. Even thoughts of Ches enraged her.

"She's here to be trained by _all_ of us Kagura, therefore we must get along. And it is none of our business who she keeps company with. You never know, we could get along wonderfully with her. She did in fact, create Dum and Dee." Kiume's snow white dog eyes were laid flat on her skull. A habit she picked up whenever she met someone new.

"Ahh she's here." At the end of the driveway a horse draw carriage was pulling up. But the driver would come no farther for fear of being cursed.

Alice stepped out of the carriage and took in all around her. The Tweedles estate was far different than the Cheshire's. The lavender trees and thick forest were replaced by grass, that was strangely enough..green.

The Manor was just as big as Cheshire's and was similar in appearance, except, it seemed to be alive. With people of course, not the Manor itself.

Maids and butlers seemed to running every which way and that. Tending to rose bushes, trimming the lawn, polishing the many windows, making sure every pebble in the driveway was in the perfect place. Alice was overwhelmed, this was the most amount of people she had seen in Wonderland. And all in one place.

She also noted with amusement that every one of the servants carried some type of weapon on their persons.

And before she knew it, and without even checking if Ches was out of the carriage, she was up the driveway, standing before The Tweedles and their girls. Alice could not believe what she was seeing. Two sets of twins, the ones she assumed were the Tweedles were identical except for their eyes. Their hair was a deep mahogany brown that was sexily tussled and seemed to have almost auburn highlights running through strands.

Their jaws were strong and seemed to be chiselled from marble. Perfectly arched brows and full lips.

The one on the lefts eyes were a rusty copper colour, and the others were an electric piercing blue, those eyes promised mischief and trouble and Alice was immediately intrigued. They were at least 6'2 and had a slighter build than Ches but you could tell they were still in shape. Both of them were wearing white dress shirts, dark brown waistcoats, and dark trousers over polished shoes.

Even the way they held themselves screamed trouble. And they had the ghost of a smile on their lips. Not like Cheshires cruel grin, or Hares welcoming one. One that was all their own, it was soft and inviting, only to draw you in close so they could smother you later.

Alice immediately liked them.

The other set of twins, females, were something else all together. Ones hair was black as night and cut severely into a stylish bob and fringe covering an eye. Her one visible eye was like an onyx pool, impenetrable. While the other twins hair was paler than even Rabbits, void of all colour, pure white and tied into cute yet sexy pigtails her eyes were the same, so absent of colour it was almost uncomfortable to look at them for too long. One of her eyes was covered with a fringe too.

The paler one was wearing only a slip of a dress while the other only wore bleached binding over her chest and a skirt. No shoes were present on their delicate feet.

They were gorgeous and Alice felt in awe at both sets of twins appearance. They seemed almost otherworldly. And before Alice could even open her mouth the female twins were beside her. One on either side. One was trailing her finger down the side of her face, the other running her fingers through Alices hair. The young woman was too startled to do anything so she just stood there dumbly.

"She's perfect." One said.

"Imperfection is perfection, sister." The other.

"Look at those scars, that filthy Cat has marked her."

"Ahh but still such beauty."

"Mmm look at those eyes, they pierce right through you."

Alice was a little freaked out by this experience and yet she didn't fear for her safety. She felt safe next to these strange twins who seemed to be at opposite sides of the spectrum, the same and yet different.

"Paws off you ugly mutts." Cheshire hissed from behind her, Alice could hear the crunch of the bags as he dropped them on the gravel of the driveway.

The girls removed their hands from Alice and the young girl felt the absence of their comforting heat inventorying her body.

"Sorry Kitty, we were told to play nice." The white haired one said this, and it was followed by a growl form her sister.

The Tweedles laughed in sync and clapped their hands.

"Now now, we must welcome our guest and Trainee Caster." The girls stepped away from Alice and it was now Dee and Dum who were on either side of the young girl. They linked her arms with one of their own, completely ignoring Cheshire.

The looked down at her, pure mischief sparkling in their eyes, and began pulling her towards the Manors doors. Alice hear three sets of footsteps trailing behind.

So these were the boys on the good side of everyone? These were the boys who were the cause of young women disappearing?

Alice could see why, they were beyond charming, and she hadn't even properly talked to them.

Double trouble.

_The time has come", the Walrus said,  
"To talk of many things:  
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing wax —  
Of cabbages — and Kings —  
And why the Sea is boiling hot —  
And whether pigs have wings."_ Dee recited The Walrus And The Carpenter in Alices ear.

The words rand out in her memory. Her sister you to recite that to her, it was so long ago it almost felt as if it was another life.

Alice smirked and looked up at the gorgeous boys on either side of her.

Oh yes, she had a feeling she was going to like it here.


End file.
